"communication"

My husband recently underwent a heart by pass operation. The care he received in the intensive care unit was excellent, as was the care in the high dependency ward (although I was surprised that staff had a radio on each time I visited. I have my doubts as to whether many patients would want this background noise whilst recovering from a major operation). My husband was discharged 5 days after his operation and received a letter with a date in March for a follow up appointment. He then had a telephone call from a booking clerk saying that the surgeon wanted to see him before this and an appointment was made for 2nd February at 10.15 am. We arrived as requested 20 mins prior to the appointment and waited but by 11 am my husband still hadn't been seen (contrary to the display which stated that appointments were all running on time), so I asked the receptionist to check that he hadn't been overlooked. Five minutes later my husband was called and was soon back - apparently he should have been phoned and notified that the appointment had been cancelled. I realise that mistakes happen but since my husband has been ill and leading up to his operation he has had three similar experiences whereby he was not contacted when he should have been. It is so frustrating to arrive for an appointment and find it has been cancelled, especially as we needed to take a taxi to and from the hospital (£26). As I have mentioned, the care my husband received has been excellent and in most cases the staff very kind and helpful. However there is obviously a problem with communication and administration at the BRI which needs investigation.