AARGH - what is it with Medical receptionists/secretaries ? !

[LIZS]

My dentist has referred me to see a specialist privately as had a root filling in September/October which hasn't solved the problem in my dead front tooth and may need surgical draining of a canal. Appointment came through a week before Christmas which was supposed to be at a local BUPA hospital but is instead at his surgery further away and in the opposite direction to my school run. Not only that but I normally do class reading on that morning so will have to juggle the rota. That aside I now have a drive of 15 miles from school to be there for 9.05 which could be tight.

His surgery has been closed since I go this letter a week before Christmas,so rang today to try to rearrange. Secretary is just so unhelpful when I try to explain the problem. No other appointments available that day or the next week unless I travel a further 15 miles to another clinic. There may be a 3.30 on another day but that would run into my school run again, wouldn't it. Could I not just leave the kids for someone else to take to school (er no, they start at 8.15/8.30 as it is and I have a 25 minute drive to get them there) but traffic could be still a problem. So have left it at 9.05 and will try to swap reading and avoid traffic jams (I can always ring the clinic if I get caught and run late can't I ?!) AARGH !!!

I'm a medical secretary and I can see that it's frustrating for you, but she can only offer the appointments she has available. The Consultants have all sorts of commitments and only have clinics on certain days at certain times. The volume of referrals means that clinics get full up so there's no opportunity to juggle appointments within a list.

If I had had someone ringing with your situation I would offer to ring you if a cancellation came up, othewise would offer you the next available appointment that suited you.

It's also not that easy if someone arrives late. If your appointment runs over then the next person will be seen late and it has a knock on effect through the whole clinic. That's annoying for the other patients on the list.

Sorry, I'm sure that's not what you wanted to hear! , but to be honest it doesn't sound at the moment like she was unhelpful, it's just her hands are tied by what she can offer you.

"It's also not that easy if someone arrives late. If your appointment runs over then the next person will be seen late and it has a knock on effect through the whole clinic. That's annoying for the other patients on the list" Agree, that was why I was trying to prevent that potentially happening but now I'll have no choice if things don't run smoothly on the day. She didn't offer anything more convenient on a later date (appreciate he may only do one or two clinics a week) or to ring if there is a cancellation. Very frustrating as might have opted to go elsewhere if I'd known it would be such a pita.

You could still do that - go somewhere else. No reason why not, if there's somewhere else that can offer more convenient appointments.

Have got approval from medical insurance to pay for this particular person now and it has been ongoign since last summer so woudl like to get it resolved asap. He was supposed to be the more convenient of the 2 people locally my dentist trust most to resolve the problem. Hopefully once I've had an initial assessment the treatment itself can be arranged more conveniently (ie at the Bupa place down the road).