"Terrible phone system must be changed immediately"

Dear harrystoke - Thank you for taking the time to post your comments on your experience. I am please that you found the staff helpful and I am sorry you had such difficulty contacting anyone in outpatient appointments via the telephone. I wish to apologise for any inconvenience and anxiety this caused. At North Bristol NHS Trust we have been implementing a new electronic patient record system which will ultimately improve services for our patients.

However, I am aware that certain clinics have experienced some unexpected problems in the last few weeks with outpatient appointments as a consequence of the new system. Unfortunately these problems have resulted in an unprecedented number of phone calls to the hospital, which has meant that staff have been unable to respond to all incoming calls. I can only apologise for this.

Our Information Management & Technology Team, have been working very hard to sort out any initial issues as quickly as possible and we are already seeing improvements.

I would like to thank you for your patience during this transition period and reassure you that everything possible is being done to resolve the problems and correct the situation. Staff will be in contact to inform all affected patients of their new appointment arrangements.

Kind regards – Steve Sykes

Advice and Complaints Team Manager