FAILURE TO ATTEND APPOINTMENTS

Missed appointments are classified as ‘Did Not Attend’ (DNA) - i.e. the patient did not turn up for the appointment and did not contact the Surgery in advance to cancel/change appointment. The effects of these are:

·         An increase in the waiting time for appointments;

·         Frustration for both staff and patients;

·         A waste of resources.

Arriving more than 10 minutes late for an appointment or failing to cancel a minimum of 4 hours before the appointment time may be recorded as a DNA if no reasonable explanation is provided. 

If a patient fails to attend a pre-booked appointment on 2 occasions in the space of 12 months, an informal warning letter will be sent to the patient, advising them that a further occurrence could risk removal from the practice.

If the patient fails to attend another appointment (3^rd) within a 12 month period since the first informal warning letter, a second letter (formal warning) will be sent to the patient advising that a further occurrence could risk removal from the practice list.

If a patient fails to attend a 4^th appointment within the same 12 month period, the matter will be discussed at a Practice meeting and decision will be made as to whether the patient will be removed from the practice list. In this case a third and final letter will be issued.

Warning letters are valid for a period of 12 months.   All DNAs will be coded into the patient’s notes on the clinical system at each non-attendance.

Mistakes can happen and the Surgery understands that appointments can be forgotten about or overlooked. Please contact the Surgery if this is the case.