Please be aware we have a policy in the surgery for patients who do not attend an appointment and have failed to cancel.
Surgery Policy
Somerton House Surgery
‘Did Not Attend’ Policy
Introduction
Approximately 45 appointments per month are ‘Did Not Attend’ (DNA), ie the patient does not turn up for the appointment and does not contact the surgery in advance to cancel/change appointment, this is approximately a session per week, the effect of these are:
· An increase in the waiting time for appointments
· An increase of patients not being able to see their own GP
· Frustration for both staff and patients
· A waste of resources
Policy:
If a patient misses an appointment twice then they will be sent a letter and a copy of the notice explaining the policy.
If they miss a further appointment than a review of the case will be done by the Practice Manager and the Partners to establish whether there are any specific reasons (social or clinical) why the patient should not be removed, with an outcome of either:
1. The patient will be invited in to meet with the Practice Manager to explain any difficulties they may have with keeping appointments.
2. They will be sent a letter informing them that in accordance with the practice policy, it has now been requested for them to be removed as a patient from the practice and they should find an alternative doctor.
Notice for Reception area:-
PLEASE NOTE
Due to an increase in the number of wasted appointments through patients failing to attend without informing the surgery, it has become necessary to implement the following policy:
If you fail to attend for [3] appointments you may be removed from this practice list and will have to find an alternative doctor.
If you cannot attend your appointments for any reason please let us know as soon as possible, we can then offer the appointment to someone else.
Thank you for your co-operation