I am greatly concerned that the Customer Care Department at St Luke’s Hospital, which, despite its somewhat benevolent title, is actually the department to which complaints are directed, is currently – to all intents and purposes – a ship without a rudder.

A recent urgent letter I wrote and addressed by name to Dr Noel Fenech as manager of Customer Care, was opened but received no attention for some nine days, until I telephoned to enquire if it had, in fact, been received, because Dr Fenech had been out of the country for a week and since his return had been at Boffa Hospital. The result of this inaction was, for me personally, extremely serious.

I subsequently spoke to Dr Fenech to request that a system be put in place so that in his absence, urgent letters would be dealt with and not merely opened and ignored until his return. I was very surprised to learn from him that he is actually the superintendent of Boffa Hospital and that since his appointment to that position, he has been requesting the hospital authorities to replace him as manager of Customer Care.

It is patently obvious that the person in charge of running a hospital cannot possibly be expected to undertake any other responsibilities – especially at another hospital. To me, this all smacks of “Well look, we’ve got a Customer Care Department” as if the fact that it exists is enough! By the cavalier attitude adopted by the hospital management, it would appear that they do not realise how necessary such a department is. It is not enough to merely have a label on a door. Notwithstanding the current staff shortages, apparently due to the prevailing financial situation at St Luke’s, an individual who is solely in charge of Customer Care must be appointed – and I would suggest that this does not need to be a doctor.

Judith Falzon

MELLIEHA