[Margaret Pilkington]

God only knows Neil...it isn't rocket science is it...and my guess would be that the staff were there well before the 9am.......all clinics need preparation time....to get notes ready, set up rooms, that sort of thing.
I know because every Wednesday for five years before I retired I ran the pre op clinic for my own area.

Bad management isn't acceptable in any organisation....and you don't manage badly because you have worked for the organisation for too long. In my experience, they promote people to jobs that they have little expertise to do.
When they perform badly they send them on some kind of training course that may have little relevance to the job in question.

There was appraisal in place when I left, so deficiencies should be identified at these interviews...either by the person doing the job, or by the appraiser...this is supposed to address such issues, if it doesn't then it is because the appraiser/appraisee is/are fudging the issue.