i just got my first letter through about seeing the 'specialist' for hepc.  hmmmmmmm.  what can i say???   i dont think i'm human, or am i?  looking at the letter and judging by the way i was spoken to by the woman at the call centre, they dont seem to think so!  the letter is cold and calous.  it is not the usual hospital appointment letter that you get through the post.  there was no appointment.  there was no empathy that can usually be extracted from between the lines in hospital letters.  NO!  it is straight to the point, take it or leave it and we dont care if you dont, kind of letter and is headed:  ARRANGING YOUR OUTPATIENT APPOINTMENTthen it casually reads:  "You may now contact us to arrange your appointment to be seen in our department of ADULT LIVER SERVICES."and it goes on in bold writing:  "If we do not hear from you within twenty-one days, we will be unable to offer you an appointment as your referral letter will be returned to the referrer."and adds, also in bold writing:  "If you no longer require an appointment please contact us, as we will be able to offer this appointment to another patient." underneath is a telephone number, but it isnt the usual number for the hospital, it is a call centre number and the letter advises "the call centre is :  Specialist (option 3)" so i called to ask for an appointment and yeah, i got one for 15 january 2008, but the receiver's attitude STANK!  she talked to me like i was dirt under her shoes.  still, i kept my cool and politely said that i was expecting to see someone sooner as i understood that my gastro referred me for an urgent appt, to which she responded "the doctors have looked at your referral and they consider you routine!"  well, that shut me up, but it didnt stop me feeling horrible.alarm bells began to ring in my head and i asked if she was part of the 'team'.  she said she was and that it was her job to make the appts.  hmmmmmm..... the mind boggles!   i then asked if she just made appts or if she operated some sort of advisory service also.  she does not.  hopefully, she is just someone who is "too big for her boots" and thinks she can get away with talking to ppl like dirt.  hopefully, she is not part of the 'team' to which i was referring, because i will not tolerate being talked down to in such a way and i'll have her "guts for garters" if i have to deal with her when i get to the 'centre'.i am soooooo angry!  this is the first contact i have had with these ppl. how dare they judge us!  she has obviously tarred us all with the same brush.  but how dare she tar anyone at all with any brush???  not one of us asked for hepc!  how any of us got hepc should not come into the equation.  it should not matter.  the fact is, we have it.  we dont want it and we certainly dont wanna pass it on.  surely, the medics understand this and should respect us for that alone.  who are they to look down on us and treat us like dirt??  i wonder if she even knows that she could very well be that one in fifty that has contracted it??  not that i'd wish it on her or anyone else for that matter, but she shouldnt judge either.  we are human beings and have emotions just like everyone else.  i'm not sure if i even want to go to this clinic.  i feel like i'm going to a VD clinic.  what the hell is ADULT LIVER SERVICES for god sake???  it may as well be an STD clinic! i can really understand why some fellow heppers dont like advertising their hepc now.  sorry for my ignorance before guys and gals, but its only just hit home how narrow minded ppl can be.  i have to say that i have not had any probs with friends or family and they all know about my hepc.  the only probs i've had are from the medical ppl themselves.  two hospitals so far have treated me like i was a leppar and talked down to me.  yet they, of all ppl should know and act differently!  surely we deserve more respect.i really wanna take this further.  my son suggested the mp, another suggested the press.  whatever, no one should get away with it.  so i have a decision to make.  do i complain, maybe at first to the board of directors, then the mp or press and risk being put out to pasture, or do i let it continue and say nothing???  if nothing else, i think the letter should be re-written.  what do all you lovely ppl think?  am i making a 'mountain out of a molehill'?venting done i'm gonna get on with some dinner for the kids.  thanks everyone.  love ya:)