Appointment Reminder Service

This hospital is piloting a telephone reminder service for patients in an attempt to reduce the number of missed appointments.

Patients will receive a telephone call a few days before an appointment to remind them to attend, and help will be offered to rearrange sessions where needed.

Missed appointments cost the hospital more than £2.5million last year as around 7,300 new appointments and 16,000 follow-up sessions were missed

Karen Makepeace, Outpatients operational manager and part of the team launching the service, said: “Our aim is to ensure as many patients as possible receive the care they require.
“Every year, thousands of appointments are wasted when patients fail to attend. “By providing a reminder, we can help those patients who may have forgotten their appointment and also make it easier for patients who wish to cancel or rearrange their appointment to do so.”

When patients miss appointments, not only does the hospital lose out on income but other patients who could have filled the slots miss out on quicker treatment.

The three-month pilot is due to begin in August for patients from Rheumatology, Ear Nose and Throat, Gynaecology, Ophthalmology and Gastroenterology. The success will then be evaluated to see if the scheme should be rolled out across the hospital.

The service is free for patients but anyone who does not want to be contacted can have their reminder call cancelled on request.