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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think there must be a better way of arranging NHS appointments than by letter?

86 replies

Feelingvawful · 26/03/2023 16:11

Long story short I have just found out that I missed a hospital appointment on Friday afternoon.

Although it is my fault (and I feel so so so bad about it!), had the appointment not been arranged by a letter in the post I would not have missed it, or at least would have been able to call to rearrange to this week.

AIBU to think that in 2023 there is a better way for the NHS to arrange appointments than by letter? Surely a ‘copy’ of the letter could be texted or emailed if such contact details are given? 😬

OP posts:
Allywill · 26/03/2023 16:13

How did you miss the letter? Was it not delivered or delivered late?

MrsBunnyEars · 26/03/2023 16:15

YES.

My post is crap so I missed an appointment recently when the letter arrived afterwards.

And then last week I had three different appointments arranged (with the same team) which were confirmed in three different letters, sent on the same day.

I know the cost of sending bulk mail isn’t enormous, but it drives me mad to see NHS money pissed away like that.

Fairyliz · 26/03/2023 16:15

Yes I agree it’s ridiculous. Surely you should be given the option of appointment by email and those elderly people who don’t have internet access can still have a paper copy.

SouthCountryGirl · 26/03/2023 16:18

I always get a phone reminder plus text a few days before.

I did have an appointment cancelled - turned up and was told the letter had been sent the previous day. Received the letter the day after the appointment.

MrsSquirrel · 26/03/2023 16:18

My local hospital has a patient portal, where you can view all your letters. It sends a text when a new letter is available. So yes, there is a better way.

IsadoraQuagmire · 26/03/2023 16:19

My hospital has an app. You get an email to say you have a message, then you go to the app and see your appointment. You also get a paper letter a week or so later.

thebellagio · 26/03/2023 16:22

Last year my daughter had a hearing test followed by an appointment with a consultant.

I had a phone call to tell me both appointments had to be cancelled because the consultant had Covid. Fair enough.

I then received FOUR letters in the post, one cancelling each appointment plus one confirming each new appointment.

that was four individual letters. Four envelopes. Four sets of postage. I mean FFS if you scale up that level of wastage across the entire country you can see how literally MILLIONS is being wasted on fucking postage. L

Smartiepants79 · 26/03/2023 16:23

We get our appointments by text first nowadays. Then we get a letter a few days later.

Original poster
Feelingvawful · 26/03/2023 16:28

Family circumstances, I had to go ‘home home’ for just over a week but could have come back early if needed. Live on my own and nobody nearby to check on post. I had asked the GP how long it would take to get the letter from the hospital arranging the scan and he said a few weeks so thought I’d be ok to go away, but it came much quicker than expected! So yeah fully my fault and I feel very guilty, but it just strikes me as a bit backwards that they have to rely on letters in the post.

As far as I can see NHS Scotland don’t have any apps/portals/websites to keep track of appointments on - but I could be wrong about that.

(I am also panicking a bit that I have underestimated the severity of why I was referred for the hospital appt in the first place!!)

OP posts:
CindersAgain · 26/03/2023 16:29

Online appt booking is coming for some types of appts, as well as text reminders. It’s a big job to get it set up - as well as the technology side of things it’s important to make sure you’re not making things worse for some people.

Rubbishsleepdotcm · 26/03/2023 16:30

Yes i have missed an appointment due to delays with letters just 2 weeks ago!!

Newusername3kidss · 26/03/2023 16:32

We have an app- myMFT for all hospital appointments for my dad. It’s brilliant. I’ve got the app and know about appointments days before he gets the letters! I thought it was a country wide thing but maybe it’s just manchester. Covers all hospitals in manchester as he goes to different ones. It’s brilliant.

Quveas · 26/03/2023 16:32

All my appointments for everything are now confirmed by text, and if there is additional information the text links to where I can download it.

TheFormidableMrsC · 26/03/2023 16:33

My friend's husband missed an operation last week because the letter had gone missing or was never sent. First they knew about it was a phone call to ask where he was! What an absolute waste of time and money.

NetZeroZealot · 26/03/2023 16:34

YANBU

DH has been having to make fairly regular trips to our local hospital.

So far, he has received 1 letter which arrived the day after the appointment. Luckily he had phoned to check before so didn't miss the appointment.

And 2 identical letters the same day which were copies of the letter supposedly sent to update the GP (which I winder ever arrived at the GP).

Surely there is a more efficient way?

NetZeroZealot · 26/03/2023 16:34

Clearly some areas have a better digital system, why hasn't it been rolled out everywhere?

Spiderboy · 26/03/2023 16:35

Did you not get the letter then? If so that is understandable.

I had two appointments recently. For 1 I got a letter and a text with my appointment details with a link to log in to my trust with a button to confirm my appointment. They also called me 1 week prior to again confirm the appointment .

The 2nd appointment I did not receive a letter, only a text and the a reminder the week before and then another the day before.

Both the same trust so not sure why they dealt with them both differently but they were quite on the ball.

Original poster
Feelingvawful · 26/03/2023 16:37

So interesting to see other trusts are more high tech! Hopefully it can be rolled out everywhere before long.

OP posts:
Redminionpenguin · 26/03/2023 16:37

Between me and 2 dc we are seen at 4 different hospitals. The best ones for appointments are 2 different children's services, both use text to tell you to log onto their portal and appointment letter is available to download which I can then use as proof for school you can easily change appointments to.
One hospital sends you a letter to book an appointment which then send you a letter to confirm. What a waste of money.
One sends you a letter always short notice and usually get a text saying don't forget your hospital appointment tomorrow and the letter arrives after said appointment.

FadedRed · 26/03/2023 16:40

I have an app “patients knows best” on which some of the local hospital appointments are sent, but I have been under the care of 3 different consultants at my local hospital and they all do different things in regard to appointments and information 🤷‍♀️. One sends all appointments on the app, the other two do not; for two of the consultants I get several reminders by text prior to an appointment, but no reminder for the third; one consultant sends me a copy of the letter to the GP, the other 2 don’t. One appointment I only found out about because I had occasion to phone the consultants secretary three days prior to the appointment date, otherwise I would have missed it as I received no notification or reminder for. There appears to be no rhyme or reason to explain the different practices, all the same hospital.

fancyfrogs · 26/03/2023 16:40

I usually don't mind the letters but with all the strikes at the back of last year it was frustrating! I rang the department I needed to check if I had an appointment as I knew I was due one soon and they confirmed I had one booked - the letter arrived the following week, days after the appointment which I'd have missed had I not phoned to question. I imagine there were lots of missed appts with the Royal Mail strikes.

Tacocatgoatcheesepizza · 26/03/2023 16:42

Definitely. DS got referred for an X-ray back in January. We were told we’d probably get an appointment in the next 3-4 weeks. Chased it after 5 weeks to discover we’d been marked as no show and the letter had been sent to our old address (moved in 2019) I hadn’t any text or email about it. Said they’d rebook and send us a new appointment….. I followed up on that a couple of weeks later to find it had once again been sent to our old address. Finally got our new address on the system and then received 2 identical but separate letters on the same day confirming our new appointment. Ridiculous.

Verylongtime · 26/03/2023 16:42

I had one that arrived lunchtime for an appointment that afternoon… The letter itself had only been written the day before asking me to turn up to the appointment with a detailed family medical history going back three generations. There was no way I could even begin to find out that info with less than one day’s notice, even if the letter had miraculously arrived on the day it was written.

foxy86 · 26/03/2023 16:43

i book appointments and send a letter about 6 week in advance, and about a week before the appt a text gets sent. Sometimes 2 texts are sent. Surprising how many patients don’t turn up when you do all that. We even used to ring a couple of days before and you still get ppl not turning up. This is for children too. Excuse after excuse then. Not all health care depts run the same. We do what we can to ensure patients know about appts.

Timeforachangeisitnot · 26/03/2023 16:47

MIL got several appointment / cancellation/ where the heck were you letters weeks after she died. Despite us doing the ‘tell me once ‘ thing.
Apparently the person typing the letters did not have access to check that on the system.
Also in Scotland.