"Praise the staff but sort out the admin side "

I've recently been seen as a patient of Royal Hallamshire Hospital Sheffield ENT out patients. I received fantastic service both from GP and hospital staff. Short wait for appointment, can't be faulted, but….

I had a total of 3 letters confirming my appointment, and what I thought was a garbled automated phone message asking me to confirm my proposed attendance. I understand the cost implications of wasted resources; however, I'm not convinced 3 appointment letters is a sensible way to sort the problem. I found the automated telephone system extremely frustrating and wasn't sure at the end of it whether I had confirmed I was planning on attending or told them I wasn't. I think it obviously had difficulty understanding my responses. Also from a confidentiality point of view, my daughter was the one who had answered the phone and had no idea I was waiting for an appointment until the automated message told her!

Praise the staff involved in providing the service but I think sort out the admin side.