Did you know we can no longer call our Neighborcare (ironic name, eh?) clinic directly?

I recently called the clinic with a fairly complicated question about my mother’s care. Instead of the usual greeting, I found myself on a Neighborcare phone tree that incorporated, over the next 10 minutes, the usual infuriating recorded messages about which number to push and how important this call was to them, so please continue to hold. Eventually I got into my car and drove to the clinic to get the answer to my question.

Argh! Can we now not call our own clinic, where the staff know us, our mothers and our circumstances? Who is this new policy supposed to benefit? Certainly not the patients.

Please — call Neighborcare or fill out a comment card at the clinic if you would like to be able to talk directly to our own clinic.

—Sissel Johannessen