A Consultant did not show up to his clinic in the South West Acute Hospital (SWAH) recently because he “forgot”, it is claimed.


The message given to a frustrated patient who waited almost an hour in an empty waiting room was that “the doctor forgot he was coming to Enniskillen today so the clinic is cancelled.”
“I wasn’t very happy,” the woman who did not wish to be named told The Impartial Reporter.


Outlining what happened on December 14, the local woman said: “I arrived at 1.20 for the 1.40pm appointment. They give you a scan number to log in with. I logged in to the online system and wasn’t sure where to go so the receptionist pointed me in the right direction.


“I sat in the waiting room and noticed that it was very quiet – there was only an elderly couple there.
“After 40 minutes I felt really stupid, but because they’d accepted my log in I thought it must be OK.
“When the elderly couple left I was alone so I thought I’d better go and ask. There was hardly any nurses around and when a nurse came out of one of the rooms I asked her about the clinic. She replied: ‘The doctor forgot he was coming to Enniskillen today so the clinic is cancelled.’ She put me onto the phone to someone in admin – I can’t remember her name – who explained that they had rung around as many people as possible that morning to notify them, but they only had my house number and I hadn’t been in.”


The woman added: “I haven’t made an official complaint yet because I appreciate that medical staff are under pressure but I wonder is this the first time it has happened?”
She continued: “Surely a doctor would know where he’s supposed to be. My concern is, when did he realise that he was supposed to be in Enniskillen? Why didn’t he continue his journey because, surely he didn’t have much to do in Altnagelvin since he was scheduled to be in Enniskillen?
“I found it very hypocritical to see a sign in the waiting area pointing out the number of missed appointments that month, while on this occasion, the consultant had missed the appointment.”


In response, a spokeswoman from the Western trust said: “We apologise for any inconvenience to patients for the cancellation of outpatient appointments. 
“There are situations where a cancellation of a Consultant led Outpatient appointment is unavoidable, for example facilitating unplanned leave or an unexpected illness at short notice, having to cover a theatre session or being unable to get to the clinic (for example inclement weather). 
“Mindful of the inconvenience that can be caused to patients, the Trust works hard to reschedule appointments at the earliest opportunity.”


The spokeswoman added: “For the period April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2015 the total number of patients who cancelled or did not attend their outpatient appointment in South West Acute Hospital was 10,467 and this is a lost appointment which could have been given to another patient.”