I have recently been trying to get through to a Doctor at Life Hospital in Fourways. The number of the hospital is (011)-875-1000 and instead of starting with the menu, in terms of the automated voice, that suggests press 1 for the switchboard, press 2 for the ICU, it basically runs you through ICU, medical care and all sorts of options that are not particularly helpful. It is designed incorrectly in the first place, but where the big problem comes in, is when your call actually gets answered by whichever department, because out of about 5 calls I actually only got put through to the doctor’s rooms once. On two occasions, in a row, I was put through to other incoming calls and got to speak with other clients who were phoning in also and we chatted basically about how useless the switchboard was and on two other occasions I was put through to a fax machine!

None of us are perfect, and I certainly have my fair share of complaints about my reception but compared to Life Fourways, I now realise that my switchboard is actually, let alone world-class standards, on another planet! This is a relatively new hospital, and they need to get basics like this right.