Hospital Appointment - Confused of SE1

At a recent visit to my GP I was told I should make a hospital appointment. However, rather than the old style referral letter, I should wait until the staff at the surgery produce a paper for me to follow instructions and make my own hospital appointment. As I waited another 15 minutes for this form to be produced I wondered which NHS 'manager' was justifying their employment by inventing this tortuous new 'system'. Eventually, clutching my instructions which were printed on two pieces of paper, I went home.

The next day I decided to try out the new system. I rang the hospital between the designated hours, quoting a 12 digit reference number. I also had a rather strange password, but before I could use this, the mystery deepened. The member of staff answering my call was unimpressed by the number I gave, and stated that I would not be able to make an appointment. The department would await the referral letter from my GP and then send me an appointment, in the old way. This seemed to render the whole exercise redundant.

I was rather confused by this and rang my GP surgery who were rather nonplussed by the failure of the wonderful new system - apparently called the National Choose and Book system.

A week or two later, I received a letter from the hospital. I opened this feverishly, fully expecting a date for an appointment, but no. The letter was merely to tell me a fact I already knew - that I had been referred for an appointment. I was to take no further action. If I had been referred via the National Choose and Book system I was to disregard any further letters as they are generated automatically.

I wonder if I am to ignore any letter offering me an appointment, since these may have been automatically generated? Dear me. Maybe I don't have Alzheimer's after all. Maybe the NHS has Alzheimer's. New title: National Choose and Confuse system.