RECENTLY I accompanied my 93 year-old mother to a local surgery for a 17.30 appointment she had made with her doctor. By 18.00 there was very little activity and from the three or four people waiting a lady with young child approached the receptionist for an explanation for the delay as she had been waiting over an hour on this and other occasions. It was suggested that she should take the matter up with the doctor which to me was a case of "passing the buck."

Eventually my mother was seen almost one hour later than her appointment time.?But not by the doctor with whom she had made the appointment.

I understand that protocol would have been to ask my mother if a "substitute" was acceptable.?This was not done.

Mother's own doctor emerged from another room a few minutes after my mother had gone in to the consulting room and called her name.

The final ignomny was that on leaving we were unable to use the main entrance as this had been locked and therefore were ushered out round the back of the building which, believe it or not, was unlit. If some attempt had been made to communicate the reason for the delay it would have helped but we were left metaphorically and eventually literally "in the dark.

– Frustrated (name and address supplied).