"Excessive delay and an absence of communication..."

Anything else?

Finally had a joint injection organised after a three month wait since requesting it. Good: Finally given a date that is convenient for me. When I was a private patient this was done virtually the moment it was requested – fantastic service then. Bad: 3 month delay since requesting the injection Communication abysmal – I just felt forgotton and as if I was just an inconvenience. The Manor make empty claims that they treat their NHS patients the same as their private ones – in my experience of being both, this could not be further from the truth Emails from me to the secretary were ignored for days – they did not even acknowledge receipt of the message. It was hard to chase as when emails were ignored I tried to phone and the phone was either engaged or not answered and no answering machine. Seemingly little appetite for treating NHS patients – all seems too much trouble for the staff. Suggestions for improvement: Train staff to keep customers informed if there are delays and to appologise if things go wrong. Avoid excessive delays – I understand that a lot of the delay was due to administrative errors – staff not knowing how to apply for NHS funding, staff not getting request forms filled out properly – staff just not moving items through their in trays causing significant delays to patients in pain. Not a lack of appointments. I would not be writing this now if someone had actually responded to my most frustrated final email rather than just give it a stiff ignoring. A polite phone call would reassure me that someone cared and was on the case – instead it felt as if they would rather not have the work and NHS patients really are second class citizens.