NHS Choose & Book - anyone had any luck?

I thought this Choose and Book thingy would be easy, and it is widely known (at least in the upper echelons of the NHS) that it is meant to save me, the patient, time by letting me choose and book an appointment with relevant consultant at a time and date convenient for me; it's also meant to be easy to use etc etc.

This would all be fine ... if it did work! Each time I've used it it has proved time consuming and obstructive to the point I ask myself:"Why bother? lets just go down the GP and get referred the old way" Simple, you'd think yes? NO! because good old GP uses C&B ... and the whole sorry cycle starts again. I think this is a ruse conjured up by the NHS to lose people in their antiquated and sometimes hopeless systems.

Take, if you will, my latest experience. Beginning August this year I see GP and ask for a referral to a local hospital for a complaint which I won't bore you with but will involve a CT scan. He looks on his screen (yes, he was one of those who was dragged kicking and screaming into the age of technology) and announces there is a C&B scheme at the local hospital and he gives me the details, except at the time of booking there are NO appointments available. So, what, is the point of having C&B which is meant to allow me, the patient, to have an appointment at a time and date which suits me when there are NO appointments available. It has even me stumped, and that is an unusual occurrence I can tell you. What happens next is that the request goes to the hospital as usual, they flag up it's a C&B thing and I get a letter from the hospital saying that there are NO appointments available - and I will be given an appointment in due course via the hospital NOT C&B!

After four weeks of waiting I call the number given on the hospital's letter to be informed that because it's a CT scan 'we don't do those appointments.' - would you be getting annoyed now .. would you??? I know I am. So, taking a very deep and measured breath I explain that it's for a consult first and then a CT scan and they seem to think they can manage that ok ... but there are still NO appointments available - for 13 weeks - I'm looking at 12 November before I can even see a consultant.

Whoever thought up C&B was obviously thinking the scheme would work but did not build in to his equations the dinosaur that is the NHS, it has not saved this patient time and has not let said patient choose and book an appointment at the time and date of my choice because there are NO appointments available ... for 13 weeks .. sigh. It's a nonsense, it really is, perhaps it was set up for a laugh to see how many people it could lead on a merry dance until we either gave up or died.

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