staff are brilliant but wait times arent
i normally use rheumatology blood clinic on a Thursday but i had been asked by my consultant to do another one but would need to go to a walk in clinic as they couldn't get me in for the rheumatology day. i rang Minerva and they told me that on a Friday they open at 8am. I turned up at 7:15am to Minerva to beat the traffic and at the time there was no one waiting outside, i parked up and quickly saw people walking towards the medical centre at 7:20 i walked towards the medical centre to find i was 10th in the queue for a blood test. the weather was freezing and there was a mixture of people waiting in the freezing cold for 40 minutes for a blood test. surely there is a better alternative than this? once in the medical centre i was seen quite quickly and was out of the door for 8:30am On another note i come on a Thursday for a rheumatology blood test and again i get there early to beat the traffic. a few times ive had an appointment quite early on for example 8:02am when i know they only open at 8am. i turn up at 7:30am and there is already queue of people. im not sure what the solution is but on a few occasions ive seen patients walk into the blood clinic when their appointment isn't until 8:40 and later and they have just come in early to see if they can be seen earlier. i completely understand this but when your appointment is at 8:02 and then have to wait to be seen at reception which then makes you late for your appointment. i feel this is very unfair. also making patients who are under rheumatology wait outside in bad weather is also not good. i feel if you only open at 8am maybe don't put your first appointments on until 8:10am so it gives patients time to get there. maybe also highlight to patients who have later appointments that they wont be seen until their allotted time to stop them coming earlier to the clinic.