"Specialist appointment"

I had an appointment booked with the Opthalmology department recently.

I received my letter confirming my appointment.

The Sunday before I received a text message reminding me to be there.

I arrived 10 mins early and was informed that my appointment had been moved to February.

As you can imagine I was slightly frustrated. The colleague at the desk explained they had tried to call me the day before my appointment. I can confirm I had 2 missed calls both at 3:22 pm. I was working at the time and didn’t have access to my mobile. I do not currently have voicemail on my mobile and they called on an unknown number so there were no options for me to know who had called.

When I asked if they had tried to contact me any other way I was told it was not possible as their only process was to call and leave a message.

When I pointed out that I had taken the day off work and that it would be difficult for me to reschedule I was told there was nothing that could be done.

The lady behind the desk was very empathetic and I have no issue with how she handled the situation. I do however have an issue with the current process. This appointment was cancelled less than 24 hours before my arrival, no options were given for me to be put with another doctor, no text message or email were sent for me to make other arrangements and the next appointment was over a month away.

If I received a text confirming my appointment 48 hours before I do not expect the appointment to be cancelled without anyone contacting me.