Posts by Richard

No-fly list grounds US Air Marshals

So if you are tooled up for a small war and want to fly

...pretend to be an air marshal.

Healthcare at your fingertips - a Choose & Book roadtest

A Bit Dismal

I too have had experience of this. The GP said I had a choice of two hospitals, St. Nearby and St. Noparking. I was subsequently given a choose'n'book appointment sheet by her receptionist - who had the embarrassed air of someone who thought that they - or I - might regret this.

For a long time, there were no appointments available at either hospital and phone calls to choose'n' book informed me that the appointments were "allocated in batches" and I should just wait, or get my GP to escalate the issue with the consultant.

Finally a huge batch of available appointments at implausible 5 minute intervals appeared at St. Noparking, but still nothing at St. Nearby. Then, out of the blue I received a letter informing me that I had been allocated an appointment at St. Noparking. Subsequent discussions with the GP revealed that St. Nearby no longer has a clinic with that consultant, although it was still a choose'n'book option.

Although I remain a committed fan of the NHS, it could all be so much better - maybe just with a bit of joined-up thinking.