Missed hospital appt due to train cancellation

Thell

My other half had a hospital appointment at 5pm last Wednesday. She's been waiting six weeks for this. Hospital is 15 minutes walk from the train station at the end of the journey. We went to our local station to catch a train that would get us there 30 minutes before the appointment, giving us twice as long as we needed to walk. When we arrived at our local station we discovered that the train had been cancelled. The next train was also running late with the net result that we'd arrive at the hospital about 15 minutes late. We phoned the hospital as a courtesy to tell them this and they told us if we were more than ten minutes late they wouldn't see us and my other half would go back on the waiting list... another six week wait then! As it was physically impossible to get to the hospital less than 15 minutes late we abandoned our trip and got a refund from the ticket office. Given that my other half now has to wait another six weeks for the appointment and has had to postpone two further appointments as they required the results from this one to be available, all though no fault of her own, is there any comeback or is the fact that the tickets were refunded the best we can hope for?

Tigsteroonie

Although the he National Rail Conditions of Travel state that in the event of train delay or cancellation, that firms won't cover any consequential losses - you don't even have those, as you haven't suffered a financial loss, only an inconvenience.

I think the best you can hope for is that, by being polite but regularly telephoning the hospital department involved, your partner might be able to get a cancellation appointment sooner than the six week period.

BorisThomson

Next time get the train before the one you planned. You only allowed yourself fifteen minutes leeway (you had the fifteen minute walk at the other end), so you were always going to risk being late.

Your missed appointment cost the NHS money. Please make sure you get there on time next time.

Mojisola

BorisThomson wrote: »

Your missed appointment cost the NHS money.

It didn't have to.

It would be a very rare clinic where several other patients weren't already waiting for their appointments - all the clinic has to do is bump them up the schedule and fit in the late arrival when they do get there.

caronoel

BorisThomson wrote: »

Next time get the train before the one you planned. You only allowed yourself fifteen minutes leeway (you had the fifteen minute walk at the other end), so you were always going to risk being late.

Your missed appointment cost the NHS money. Please make sure you get there on time next time.

Why should the NHS (or us taxpayers) have to pay for your tardiness?

Next time plan to be there at least an hour in advance. The nanny state shoulent have to pay for you.

Carrot007

caronoel wrote: »

Why should the NHS (or us taxpayers) have to pay for your tardiness?

Next time plan to be there at least an hour in advance. The nanny state shoulent have to pay for you.

Why should anyone be within ten minutes of an appointment that is likely going to be a 2 hour wait?

The NHS is great but they should admit everything is running late and give you updates for when you should arrive. The appointment time is !!!!!!!! and you know it.

For your reasoning to be effecticve the NHS should give compensation for appointments not on time. It goes both ways.

Doesa depend on what the appointment was for of course. Some are4 always on time.

Thell

What utter garbage!

It was the train company's screw-up that caused the appointment to be missed. It was then the hospital's resolute unwillingness to exercise some discretion and common sense and allow an extra five minutes that caused the appointment to be missed. Finally, my other half has paid the best part of a quarter of a million pounds in tax during her working life thus far, so don't even think about going down the "costing the NHS money" route!!

Carrot007

Thell wrote: »

What utter garbage!

It was the train company's screw-up that caused the appointment to be missed. It was then the hospital's resolute unwillingness to exercise some discretion and common sense and allow an extra five minutes that caused the appointment to be missed. Finally, my other half has paid the best part of a quarter of a million pounds in tax during her working life thus far, so don't even think about going down the "costing the NHS money" route!!

So the train was cancelled. Could you have not got a taxi? That would be my first option.

Stompa

I'm mystified as to why the OP decided to cut it so fine. Surely everybody knows that public transport can be subject to delays and cancellations.

Mids_Costcutter

If the OP had missed the appointment when travelling by car as a result of a road being blocked by a crash, would the responses on this thread have been the same i.e. 'you shouldn't have cut it so fine'?

KeithP

Mids_Costcutter wrote: »

If the OP had missed the appointment when travelling by car as a result of a road being blocked by a crash, would the responses on this thread have been the same i.e. 'you shouldn't have cut it so fine'?

Yes, I think so.