"Turned away before clinic shut"

My elderly father was recently discharged from Calderdale Royal Hospital following treatment for cancer. Upon his discharge, they did not realise he had shingles across his abdomen, we only realized when we got him home and he was very uncomfortable.

We called the hospital to ask for advice, they sent a district nurse to see him. The district nurse was pretty sure it was shingles but advised us to get him to the walk in centre for a confirmed diagnosis as it was a Saturday and the GP would be unavailable.

We called the walk in centre at Todmorden for an appointment, we were given one for 7: 45 pm. When we arrived, we were told he could not be seen at the centre was closing – even though they had given us an appointment and they were supposedly open till 8: 00 pm.

We returned on Sunday morning and were seen by a nurse practitioner who was surprised we had been turned away the previous evening, particularly given that my father is elderly and more vulnerable due to his cancer treatment. She was able to confirm that it was shingles and give appropriate advice and treatment, she also advised my father to see his GP as soon as possible.

My father has received very good care and treatment throughout, we were, however, disappointed and concerned with the attitude we encountered at the walk in centre in Saturday evening.