Vent - Hospital given out our home telephone number on a letter!

olly300

Go to the local paper.

Seriously you need to shame the hospital publicly. As even if you change your number they will still be giving out a wrong number so people can't get through to anyone. At the moment people are lucky you are there to tell them it's a wrong number.

They will then ensure they won't do it again.

wannabe_sybil

A book by Bureaucrats and How to Annoy Them by R T Fishall (I believe aka Patrick Moore) recommends in this situation that you answer the phone in the following matter.

'Hello, can I speak to x please?'
'No, because you've been naughty'

My own imagination suggests that you could ask people if they are coming for the special enemas or whether they have been a 'naughty boy'. Or put the phone to one side until they hang up. After enough complaints through PALS etc you may get a positive result from the hospital. Good luck.

Storck

Just take the bookings and then let them turn up to the hospital at the wrong time.

cally6008

Storck wrote: »

Just take the bookings and then let them turn up to the hospital at the wrong time.

That could have some quite serious consequences :mad:

sagalout1954

I wouldn't keep giving them the correct number, just emphasise the one they have dialled is incorrect and that the hospital cannot be bothered to inform their patients that they have been misinformed! If you keep dishing out the correct number there's less reason for the hospital to correct their error.

I certainly wouldn't ignore calls if you don't recognise the caller ID - that was stupid advice from the hospital, the caller will just keep ringing until they get through.

I like the idea of giving the Chief Execs number - but I'd use the hospital number and his extension (or direct line if you can get it), rather than his/her home number. That way you've been helpful and given the patient a proper number - not your fault if the CE then gets inundated with angry patients.

vikingaero

My parents telephone number was one digit different from Eurotunnels 0870 number before they changed to 0844. We used to get mis-dials all the time wanting to book. Most were apologetic about it, a good minority arsey and one guy redialled me repeatedly to book. I kept telling him he was calling the wrong number. I think he genuinely believed that I worked for Eurotunnel but not in bookings. After swearing at me I decided to take his "booking" and started tapping randomly on my laptop keyboard. I even gave him a fake reference number.

Kayteehee

cally6008 wrote: »

That could have some quite serious consequences :mad:

I agree! What a silly thing to say when i already mentioned many of them were elderly ringing up, it is a lot for some people to get to an appointment and even if they are not elderly and frail they may have to take time off work/spend money getting a taxi/driving and parking imagine if it happened to you!

Then there is the added risk of whatever they needed an appointment for being very serious and they could get worse in health. I hope you were kidding.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

I'd invoice the hospital. £1 per call. Payment due immediately.

Something along the lines of 'for answering, establishing the nature of the call and the provision of the correct telephone number for xxx hospital main reception, handling of irate or distraught patients and general inconvenience'

Send it to the Chief Exec's Office.

Repeat every month, together with reminder bills.

Eventually they will do something about it and you don't have the problem of telling half the county your telephone number via the newspaper.