SO Basildon Hospital is suffering from missed appointments.

It doesn’t surprise me. Having recently attended an appointment and allowed plenty of time, I arrived at the hospital with, so I thought, ample time to spare.

I drove into the multi-storey car park and spent the next 45 minutes driving up and down, around and around trying to find a vacant spot to park in, and most of the time following others looking for the same.

In all that time I was being charged for a parking spot that didn’t exist!

I was late for my appointment but was, fortunately, accepted.

The point is that I was on the verge of giving up and rebooking later and I’ve little doubt that many do exactly that, creating the ‘missed appointment’ crisis that

Basildon is facing.

Add to that the quite understandable attitude to lateness and it’s easy to see the attendance problem.

Obviously this will not explain all the missed attendances, but I’m sure the parking nightmare accounts for a large percentage.

Perhaps the forthcoming hospital rearrangement will help matters, as I can’t imagine Basildon building another much needed multi-storey car park, even though the apparent millions lost could easily have funded one.

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SARAH JEFFRIES

Grays