HAVING endured an acute painful shoulder (torn and snagging up cartilage) since February this year and injections and painkillers having little effect, my GP finally referred me for treatment via the ‘choose and book’ scheme.
What a waste of time and NHS funds is the scheme which appears to be a sly NHS way of delaying proper surgical repairs.
Most importantly to make readers aware, this scheme is for a telephone appointment to assess the problem.
Firstly I tried the online appointment booking system and opted for an early morning appointment, 6.30am in two days’ time, from an array of early morning slots all before 7am. The web-page announced my choice was unavailable, so I tried several more time slots in the soonest dates. All selections were met with ‘unavailable’, so what is the point of ‘choose and book’ if all choices are not available?
Hence this morning at 8am, I phoned the scheme and finally got some sense from the person dealing with my call. Even then, no specific date or time was given, but a telephone appointment would happen sometime between now and November 28.
This scheme gives the patient the impression that the cogs are turning to get seen soon at hospital, whereas in fact it just delays the urgently needed treatment.
ADRIAN TAYLOR, Duncan Close, Eynsham
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here