Every year we lose valuable surgery time because of patients failing to attend their appointments, or cancelling at short notice. This makes it more difficult for us to accommodate our patients in need of urgent treatment, for existing patients to book appointments and for new patients to register here. It also cost the surgery a considerable amount of money.
NHS Patients
Under NHS regulations, we are unable to charge NHS patients who fail to attend for their appointments or who cancel at short notice (less than 24 hours notice is insufficient notice).
A patient, who fails to attend their appointment or cancels at short notice, will be sent an e-mail / text or letter, warning them that they will lose their NHS entitlement here, if they fail to attend or cancel at short notice again within a 3 year period. In the event that a further appointment is missed or cancelled at short notice within this 3 year period, we will withdraw the offer of NHS treatment at this practice. Should they wish to remain a patient here, this will be on a private basis.
Discretion may be used if there is a good reason for the appointment being missed.
As with all medical facilities, we aim to see our patients on time but due to the nature of health care, this is not always possible. However, if a patient turns up late for their appointment so that treatment cannot be carried out, this will be regarded as failing to attend.
New NHS Patients
We have had a very high percentage of new NHS patients, often whole families, failing to attend their appointments. New patients who fail to attend their first appointment or cancel it at short notice, will no longer been seen at this practice as NHS patients. Should they wish to remain a patient here, they will need to register here on a private basis.
NHS Patients Attending Appointments for Private Treatment i.e. hygienist
A 50% deposit is required upfront for all private treatments. Please note that if you fail to attend your appointment, your deposit will be retained to cover the reserved appointment time.
Text / E-mail Reminders
Text reminders are available for appointments on request. If we have your mobile phone number on file, a reminder text can be sent to you 48 hours before your appointment. All text messages sent by our system are logged when successfully/unsuccessfully sent. It is your responsibility to check your text messages and to ensure that we are informed of any changes to your mobile phone number. We will assume that you have received your reminder if it has been logged as successfully sent.
Please note, text messages are sent out of courtesy, not necessity. It is your responsibility to turn up on time for an appointment. Failure of the text messaging system for any reason is not sufficient reason for failing to attend or turning up too late for treatment.
This policy does not affect your ability to seek NHS care at another NHS practice
