"Difficulty in getting through by telephone at Queens"

My father received a letter which stated that he had to confirm the appointment date offered within five days time, or he would lose it.

He tried to telephone the hospital (Queens, Romford) on three different occaisions but could not get through.

Eventually, frustrated by his inability to get through and worried by the five days time 'threat', he got on the bus (from Brentwood) and then walked the rest of the way to the hospital just in order to get to speak to someone about the appointment.

The attitude of the staff was that 'there's only one person answering and there should be four'.

My father is 86 and he is my mother's main carer and he could do without the stress that this kind of inefficiency causes.