So just whose brainwave was the new touch screen computer booking-in system at Southend Hospital’s outpatients’ department?
I like to think I am computer savvy, yet it took me a while to get to grips with it.
But those more elderly than me, who have never probably used a computer, were left totally confused and bewildered.
Add to this the fact that only one terminal was working when I visited makes one wonder what was the point of the exercise.
Nursing staff were repeatedly having to call out patients’ names, just as under the old system.
No doubt the aim was a reduction in staffing costs, but when the elderly and infirm are already having to cope with a visit to hospital, surely the personal touch is worth the extra cost.
Graham Gowland
Canewdon Hall Close
Canewdon
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