Letter of complaint (cancelled appointment)

feelinggood_2

Hi all

I was due to have a home visit from my CPN this afternoon. When she was 30 minutes late, I called the office, to get an estimated time of arrival.

I was informed that she was out sick and 'someone probably rang me'. I wasn't told when she'd be back, or if she'd reschedule, although I didn't ask. I did leave a message for her asking to call me.

I'd been home all day, with no calls on my landline or mobile. No message left on either.

This is the third time (I think) that this has happened, but I haven't made a note of when it happened, or mentioned that I'm unhappy.

Annoyingly, I'm not in a good frame of mind, so could have done with this appointment, so I'd like a bit of help to write a letter letting them know that I'm not happy, and asking that in future I am informed of a cancelled appointment.

Basically, can someone write one for me?

alison999

all you need to do is ring them and just mention that next time if he/shes ill then you'd like to be informed so you dont hae a wasted day of waiting yourself. i cant see anyone taking offense to that. you cant really complain about her being ill since its not something you can schedule

LADY_A_5

Hiya although i agree with the unexpected sickness part i also belive its common curtesy to arrange all apointments to be canceled for that day.

due to the nature of a c.p.n's work, i would have thought they understand they are dealing with fragile sensitive people and a quick call from the office to cancel all appointments was normal procedure.

3 times, hmm did they call and cancel the other two times? if not, i would say when phoning next, that it would be rather helpful if they were to call you in future if your c.p.n cannot make an appointment, as three times is a clear communication problem on their part.

hope your feeling a little better xx

feelinggood_2

The other two times I didn't contact them, just asked CPN if I'd been mistaken about the appointment - she apologised and said she thought they'd have told me this. This time, I phoned to check, had a feeling she wasn't coming. No apology, and they definitely hadn't told me, but the lady said that someone would have done!

I think I just want it highlighted that I wasn't told, and that I'd like them to let me know in future. I don't mind her cancelling at all, thats totally understandable, but surely they should tell me? Or at least not lie and say someone did!

LADY_A_5

definatly comunication problems on their side, when you next ring for an appointment etc tell them that 3 times they have cancelled your appointment without informing you, and could they possibly double check your contact details?

Savvy_Sue

You could see if there's a PALS service for this (I know they have them in hospitals but not sure if your CPN is hospital based and how it works for non-hospitals). They're designed to do the 'Never let this happen again' contact without making a formal complaint.

Or something along the following lines, to her manager (see if you can find the name).

Dear Mr/Ms Manager

As you will know, Freda Bloggs my CPN was unwell on X date, when she was scheduled to come and see me at home. I phoned half an hour after the time she was due to arrive, and was told that she was unwell, and that 'someone probably rang me'. Since I had not been out all day, and no messages were left on either my home or mobile phones, I am sure that this did not happen.

I realise it is not Freda's fault that she did not contact me: obviously if she is unwell then she cannot do this. However I am sure you will agree that when staff are sick, there should be some arrangements in place for contacting those they were due to see. I am sure that to ensure staff safety Freda's list of visits is available to the office / clinic / wherever she works from, and although I realise everyone is very busy, it is surely important that those she was due to see receive a phone call. as soon as possible.

This is not the first time that I have not been contacted when Freda is unwell, and she has apologised for these failures. However it concerns me that your procedures have not been improved, especially as your service users do not enjoy the best of mental health.

On the day in question I was not in a good frame of mind and could really have done with that visit, so I would like to have this visit rearranged as soon as possible. If Freda is not expected to return for some time, please advise how I can access support in her absence.

I am sure you have my current phone numbers, but you may like to check your records: they are nnn and nnn.

I hope to receive your assurance that in future I will be notified of cancelled appointments promptly.

Yours sincerely

feeling(notso)good

FWIW, we have staff going out on visits to clients, and if someone phones in sick we immediately ask for a list of their visits and start phoning as soon as we can. Their visits SHOULD already be listed in their office diary so if they're too poorly to speak we ought to be able to work it out, but if they're able to give us the names and phone numbers it saves us having to trawl through client files.

The most difficult thing is when you phone, and can't get through or leave a message, so you leave for a bit, and then suddenly realise the time of the appointment has passed and you haven't managed to contact the person yet! Or worse, if the client was coming to our office, and they turn up! But we really do try, and I hope you wouldn't ever be sat at home without us getting through.

NB this isn't in the mental health field at all, so I can assure the OP it definitely wasn't us who failed to contact her! :rotfl:

JoeyEmma

Don't bother with PALS. Just call or write to the Team Leader about it. It just needs a short note or 5 minute call. It also means it gets straight to the source instead of getting lost in the nightmare of layers of admin that is PALS.

There is clearly something going wrong within the team about arranging sick cover/ taking messages. They need to have a system to ensure all appointments are cancelled.

When I was a CPN and was off sick I would call the admin and let them know what appointments I would be missing. She would them, explain, apologise and let them know I would call them on my return.