A standardised NHS container designed for taking the piss
As regular readers of this blog – particularly some recent blogs – will know, I have a very high opinion of the medical staff working in Britain’s NHS.
Equally, I have a very low opinion of all large bureaucratic organisations, of which the NHS is one.
This year I have written several blogs about the NHS’ wild incompetence.
I currently have high calcium level and low kidney function problems which have been going on for over a year – since at least May last year. And the doctors have still got no idea what the cause of the problems is.
That is fine. They are trying.
But it means I have to have dealings with the bureaucratic side of the NHS.
Yesterday I received three letters in two envelopes from the NHS, all dated four days before.
I have had a longstanding appointment to see a kidney specialist in my local hospital at 1030 on Monday 20th September.
The first of the three letters was from my local hospital and cancelled that appointment.
The second letter (contained in the same envelope as the first) was from the NHS Trust/Group to which my local hospital belongs. It said I should ignore that first letter cancelling the appointment. The appointment, it said, was not actually cancelled. I had been put on a waiting list and the appointment would be rescheduled.
The third letter, also from my local hospital and dated on the same day as the previous two, said I now had a confirmed appointment at 1030 on Monday 20th September.
The eagle-eyed may have noticed that is the same time and day as the original appointment which had been cancelled. Sorry! Not cancelled but to be rescheduled.
I am not 100% certain if the first and second letters are referring to the third letter and the appointment no longer exists.
Or if the third letter refers to the first and second letters and it is rescheduling the appointment, which is now confirmed to be once again on Monday 20th September 2021 at 10.30.
I live on the outskirts of London. All three of the above letters from my local NHS hospitals were posted to me from the NHS in Bristol.
I have no idea why and, I suspect, neither does the NHS.
The many-headed Hydra of mythology (The Farman Collection, 1987, via Wikipedia Commons)
SO IT GOES - John Fleming's blog 
I believe that this sort of thing has only happened since computers took over standard letter writing. Once upon a time there would have been a junior in a typing pool who would have realised that he/she was typing gibberish and it would have been checked. I was such a junior typist myself once, and letting this type of idiotic communication be sent (or using more than one envelope if there were two missives for the same person/address) would have gotten a stiff reprimand