"Ophthalmology waiting"

I have nothing but praise for the medical staff who dealt with my wife's concern very efficiently. However there is something seriously wrong with the appointment booking system. My wife had a 9.00 am appointment (the earliest possible) but was still in the waiting room at 12.00 midday. This is not satisfactory. Not only was her morning wasted but so was mine as she might have needed someone to drive her home. The waiting room was full mainly of exceedingly tolerant elderly patients also waiting excessive times. Some of these no doubt had been brought in by volunteer drivers who give their time for free. I understand that some procedures take time but their is no excuse for early appointments to run so late. I also understand that some patients do not turn up and some overbooking is employed as with airlines but this does not explain a 3 hour wait. I suspect a block booking system is used and everyone is asked to arrive at the same time. This helps no one and adds to the general inefficiency and duplicated effort for the already busy staff.