I've had a couple of messages from our local doctor's surgery for me to book for Flu and Shingles jabs, so I thought I'd give it a try. Mistake!
Firstly, no menu option specifically for Shingles bookings so I pressed 6 for ' any other reason' that has not been listed. I was number 10 in the queue and still on that number after 6 minutes. Going nowhere I hung up as I decided on another tactic.
Press No. 7 for flu vaccination I was told and surely that should be more efficient as it is dedicated to one task. No! Not even a response saying my position in the queue. I hung on for 23 minutes listening to the dialling tone before giving up and stopping the call.
All this happened at 1:20pm when presumably the morning rush was over. Obviously not.
Conclusion: It's OK to send out messages inviting patients to make contact for appointments but please ensure you have the reception task force to deal with the resulting demand.
Perhaps some of the 800+ asylum seekers that arrived this last weekend can help out by operating the surgery phones? I guess not!
Twithay?
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