"Delay to appointment"

Hi travellEr115,

I am really sorry to hear about your recent experience in the Exeter clinic which I can appreciate after working a busy night-shift must have been especially difficult.

Unfortunately, it sounds like we didn't manage this situation at all well and I am sorry that this resulted in you leaving the service before being seen by a clinician. Sometimes everything appears to be running to time, but then a patient becomes unwell or there is a significant problem in clinic, which means everything grinds to a bit of a halt until we are able to catch up again. These kind of long waits don't happen often, but I understand when they do, it can really impact on patients who are still waiting to be seen.

You are right that we should have let you know about the problem soon as possible. We would normally let patients waiting know there had been a delay and provide the option of continuing to wait, or to come and re-book their appointment for a new time. I acknowledge that we just did not communicate well on this day.

I hope you have been able to rebook your appointment (or have since been seen in clinic). However, if this hasn't been the case, I would recommend either phoning us on 0300 303 3989 or by booking online via the Personal Health Record system https://www.devonsexualhealth.nhs.uk/our-clinics/myphr/

If you would like to discuss your experience in more detail, I would welcome you to contact me for a confidential chat via rduh.shexeteradmin@nhs.net.

I hope that next time you attend we provide a better service and the care you receive meets the high standards we would normally expect.

Best wishes,

April Brooks

Lead Nurse