"out patient appointment 26/11/13"

Anything else?

We have never been here before, no arrows to point us in the right direction. We were encouraged to use check in machines - but no explanation why? We got there just in time, but then found out we had to wait about 45 minutes as we were a new patient. When the consultation came - there was no real understanding of my disabilities, the consent letter was not in an accessible format. I had no understanding of what was happening. Ok the consultant seemed to flip when he heard speech impairments and learning disabilities/difficulties - but what about me? No explanation why my mum could not stay with me as I have never had an operation before. Having someone over us when we used the machines was not very helpful and put me off. Then we had to wait to book my next appointment. Surely there should be easy read documents for people to read - who may not have English as their 1st language or have disabilities. What about a book with pictures to show people who have disabilities or don't have English as their first language? If you want people to use a machine of check in, why not put it in the appointment letter so everyone can understand on how to use it and expects it. Think about where people live when booking appointments. Can the doctors or nurse explain things like how long the operation is going to be, the procedure, etc. in easy to understand language - they are used to talking about these things, but the man in the street/lay person is not. If you want to discuss the operation and what is likely to happen, then use simple language so everyone can understand.