"Disappointing delay in discharge after treatment"

On 22nd July 2015, I attended the Day-Care Clinic at Leicester Royal Infirmary for vascular treatment. Let me say that the treatment I received was excellent and the staff looked after me with care, compassion and professionalism that I cannot fault. However, there is something seriously wrong at administrative level. I was first on the theatre list and my procedure was completed,under local anaesthetic, before 10.30 am. I was assured that there would be a short wait until I was to be assessed and discharged. However, the discharge letter was not produced until after 2.00 pm and the delay in completing the discharge formalities resulted in a flurry of activity - blood pressure check, administration of medication, preparation of pharmacy requests - before I was able to leave the clinic at around 2.30 pm. By that time, I had seen around four hours wasted, sitting on the ward, of which around 2 hours was also wasted by a relative who had come to pick me up. My relative had brought me to the hospital early in the morning and gone to spend time in the city but had returned, assuming I would be ready to leave. By the time we got back to a nearby car park, the fee had amounted to £17.00, rather that the £6 or so that we were expecting. In addition, having been assured several times that my discharge would be 'soon', I, and my relative, delayed our mid-day meal and finally got our 'lunch' at around 3.30 pm. So, while I remain full of praise for front-line NHS staff, I am very disappointed that I have experienced a loss of time and money that should not have occurred. Incidentally, there were four other attendees in that ward, of whom two also suffered delays in their discharge.