"Voicemail information totally inadequate"

In the morning I had to ring both Southampton Hospital and Princess Anne Hospital Eye Clinic to confirm and reschedule appointments for my aged mother in law.

In the afternoon I had a voicemail asking her to ring an 0845 number to book a follow up appointment.

I rang on my mobile and had the most confusing conversation in which I managed to establish that the call was from Lymington Hospital who wanted her to book a follow up appointment for an eye procedure she had over a year ago. This call of about four minutes cost £2.07 despite being told by the person on the phone it would be charged at the national rate.

Firstly please train your staff to leave relevant, detailed messages, with the name of the hospital, department and their name. Ma in law can't be the only person under the care of more than one hospital.

Secondly the use of an 0845 number is an extra cost and penalty to someone who is sick/or in need of the service.

I normally have the highest of praise for Lymington Hospital but in this instance they needlessly caused unnecessary stress and worry by their lack of competence in leaving a simple explanatory voicemail.