AIBU to think the hospital is wrong?

[mmmmkakshch]

I had an appointment today at 8 30 am for a scan ive been waiting for for quite a while. It was at 8 30 am. I arrived at the hospital at 8 13 am. There was a giant queue waiting for the receptionist. It appeared they were down staff. I waited for over 30 minutes to get to the front to be told I was late and the appointment was now cancelled and id have to get a new referral via the gp. Ive been waiting over 4 months for this scan. I explained that i arrived in plenty of time and she said there was nothing she could do.
I dont really think im being unreasonable

Contact PALS at the hospital. That’s completely ridiculous.

Our clinic tells us not to arrive more than 20mins to any appointment. I usually get there early, traffic can be horrendous, but sit n chill out for a bit, or have a cuppa……

That is nonsense on the part of the receptionist. I work in the Imaging department of s large hospital and there is no way a patient would be turned away under those circumstances. Complain to PALS and insist your request us reinstated and marked as urgent.You absolutely should not be treated this way.

They won’t do that unless the Receptionist has marked you as ‘arrived’

me too!! Different hospitals have different processes/systems often depending on the size of the organisation so we could both be right 🙂

I'd have objected there and then and would have asked to see theh person in charge. It's a disgraceful standard or service and I believe the S in NHS still stands for SERVICE rather than SHIT.

But that'd be insane to assume you would face more than a 15 minute queue for the reception to see you.

The day our GP surgery computer check-in system breaks is the day chaos reigns.
I've heard the row between someone who had to queue to get 'logged in' and the reception staff. It was not a positive experience for anyone that day to listen to that argument.

It is the responsibility of the hospital to ensure that people are checked in quickly.
My mum has volunteered at a clinic where she was responsible for checking people off on a list at reception. She did nothing beyond check names, but it meant the people were all acknowledged quickly. It might not be a role done by volunteers in all hospitals though.

No wonder they have so many so called ‘no shows’! What a wonderful system.

I'm so sorry that this has happened to you. It's easy to say as an observer, but I'd have had a good try at "No I'm sorry that is not acceptable, I was here on time, and I still expect to be seen."

At our hospital you check in at the main outpatients reception so they know you are in the hospital. Then you go to the department reception. If there’s a queue there it doesn’t really matter as they know you are in the hospital as it says on their central system.

I would have gone to the receptionist and just said that I have an appt for 8:30 and I'm here.

Definitely complain.

I would have expected the receptionist to have accepted you were on time and let you through. Or to have alerted the consultant about the long queue so that your name could have been called at your appointment time and you could have gone through to be seen. Poor planning all around.

This is why those perky reminders of how much missed appointments cost the NHS annoy me!

I feel a little less crazy now. I have rung the department and managed to speak to someone who acknowledged that actually that was completely not ok. She has managed to book me an appointment for friday which while isnt today also isnt another 4 months.

I am going to raise a complaint with PALS. I just couldn't believe it. Even now im still a little baffled

I'm glad to hear that, OP.

I've not read the thread so this may well have been raised before, but technology can make this stuff so much easier. My GP surgery, like many of them, has a couple of touch screens where you can check in. I know you said they were also confirming contact details but that seems daft given the circumstances, being time-consuming.

A poorly run department, I'd say.

This. Managers have to respond the PALS forms.

I think that's ridiculous and I work for the NHS in a department that has similar appointments..if the receptionist came and said "this lady did actually arrive before her appointment but there was a queue because I'm on my own... X is off sick..etc" there aren't many staff who would refuse to squeeze you in. (In fact I don't know of any and that includes the grumpier ones!!)
Also as a gesture of apology she could at the very least have contacted appointment office to rebook you asap without the need for another referral... You already have a referral!

Well done OP. It sounds like the Receptionist was applying rules for "no shows" which was plainly inappropriate in your case and the cases of all the people in the queue in front of her.

I have had similar. Tuned up for an oncology appointment at oncology early. Go to reception to be told by the receptionist that my appointment was not in oncology but in obs&gyny ( I bounce between the two generally). So off I trot down to there - a good 10 mins away as it’s on the other side of the hospital. Queue up to book in (amongst numerous pregnant women which can be rather triggering for me) to be told by them that my appointment is in oncology and I need to go back there! I have a chronic illness too so I’m not particularly fit. I’m also told that I’m the 5th patient to be sent to them from oncology that day when their appointments are in oncology!
So I head back again. Nobody is now at reception so I ring the bell. Others queuing up behind me. After a good few more minutes the receptionist sauntered out mug of drink in hand laughing with another woman. She has the gall to tell me that I should be in obs and gyny again to which I correct her and say that they have sent me back. She then calls through to the doctors office and confirms that I am in oncology and that I am 15 minutes late for my appointment. I ended up standing my ground with her and asking for the doctor to come through which she did and I explained the story and that I was the 5th person of the day she had sent to the wrong place.
my appointment went ahead and I have made a formal complaint against the receptionist.

Well done you!

@sosorryimnotsorry I'd like to say I'm surprised by your post, but I'm really not. There's something about NHS receptionists - they seem to be a breed apart adopting an attitude of anything from carelessness to utter disregard (with apologies to the rare exceptional one who cares and does do a good job). One would think that a receptionist working in an Oncology department might be more inclined to empathy and compassion, but obviously not. I sincerely hope you recover well.

this^

if you have one receptionist for however many departments within outpatients - many people are going to be late for the appointments and then people waiting for their patients to show up - its ridiculous

its not the poor receptionists fault she can only work so fast but its whoever has left her to work alone at a busy time

@mmmmkakshch

so pleased you have an appointment for Friday

Glad you got another appointment booked quickly. Hope everything goes well on Friday. 🌺

Well if no one creates noise they never know. You can just passively do fuck all or badger a secretary, or you can go to the top and make noise

My local hospital has touch screens where we confirm arrival for all outpatient appointments. It literally takes 10 seconds

So does ours, and our GP surgery.