Frustrated cancer survivor tried to call for four days before giving up

Glenrothes woman Sandra Peebles tried to book a jab countless times over the course of four days before giving up in frustration.

The 69-year-old breast cancer survivor receives an immunisation every year, along with husband Alan, due to underlying health conditions.

They received a letter last Thursday morning urging them to call the dedicated Dunfermline number to book a slot at one of the community hubs set up by NHS Fife.

“I started phoning on Thursday and got an automated voice saying to please hold the line,” said Sandra.

“I hung on for 25 to 30 minutes and then hung up and tried again.

“I did this every so often for the whole day, hanging on for half an hour at a time and getting nowhere.

“Sometimes it would ring for 30 seconds then it would change to an

“On Monday the message changed to ‘your call is important to us’ and I had to listen to music and I tried all day again

engaged tone and this continued throughout Thursday and Friday.

“On Monday the message changed to ‘your call is important to us’ and I had to listen to music and I tried all day again.”

The message changed again on Tuesday to an apology and explanation that the line had been inundated but Sandra still couldn’t get through.

She described the experience as frustrating and added: “I wasted so much time.

“We were at the stage when we were thinking about just paying for a jab at the chemist but I thought why should we?”

Sandra said the phone line was only available from Monday to Friday.

“If they were inundated with calls and knew the situation, why not work extra hours?” she said.

“They’re bound to have known how many people would call as they knew how many letters they sent out.”