Then that is the hospital not dealing with patients correctly. Our hospital has a triage system so you are seen within 10 minutes and assessed. There are 3 levels which go along the lines or emergency/critical, serious and timewasters. Timewasters just wait till no one in the first 2 groups are waiting. If you come in by ambulance the paramedics make that decision.
I know. I rang 111 who arranged for him to go to an urgent care centre. After an initial examination they told me to take him straight to A&E which was packed, and it was ages before he was called in to triage. I agree that it was the hospital's fault but it still annoys me that people go for injuries that just need a sticking plaster.
The NHS is pretty useless at collecting the fees they are owed by people who aren't entitled to free treatment. Can't see them being any better at collecting fines from the general public.
i make appointments because i NEED them, i don`t deliberately miss them don`t you think i have a variety of techniques i have built up over the years? unfortunately they still fail because i am human, they are reasons, not excuses.
I know you suffer with serious mental health issues that may affect your memory, but couldn't you keep a calender, set an alarm reminder on a phone/computer or let a friend/family member know so that they could remind you?
I know. I rang 111 who arranged for him to go to an urgent care centre. After an initial examination they told me to take him straight to A&E which was packed, and it was ages before he was called in to triage. I agree that it was the hospital's fault but it still annoys me that people go for injuries that just need a sticking plaster.
Absolutely >:(
It's incredibly selfish and self centred. And costs us as a nation. So much could be improved.
Obviously there will be genuine reasons for a lot of it, but they will be a minority.
People basically don't give a shit and there is no consequence to them if they fail to attend, that's why it happens so much.
You can bet your balls that if they were fined for missing these appointments, they'd bloody well turn up.
Quite. And this is ALL appointments, not just outpatients or GP consultations. There are a huge number of no-shows in radiology in our Trust - and as they are currently working weekends and evenings to try and clear the backlog because there are so many people waiting (because the service is over-subscribed) and there are people who would have killed to have that appointment that someone just 'missed' because they couldn't be bothered to pick up the phone and call to cancel it really isn't fair on anyone - radiology and other patients!
Believe it or not we get many no-shows for operations as well (and this is sometimes AFTER they have confirmed). The excuses that they give sometimes are laughable (although obviously there ARE genuine cases and they are fairly easy to spot and if someone calls me the day after and apologises because they forgot, or had the wrong day or some mishap occurred then that's fine; at least they bothered even if after the event. It's the ones who don't seem to care or the serial no-shows who really do frustrate everyone).
Clinics (and my consultant and his team have 5 per week) always have an average of 2 no-shows every clinic - which means 10 patients per week (520 per year). Again, the appointments are like gold dust because our service is so over-subscribed because we are a specialist unit covering a massive area.
So for the clinics you generally have a consultant sitting there for 15 minutes without a patient until the next one turns up, but clinics are also staffed by nurses (who take blood tests or urine samples) and clerks (who register patients as they arrive). On wards you have the nursing staff who are allocated the week previously dependent on how many beds are occupied and the surgeon, his team, the theatre staff (anaesthetist, scrub nurse, registrar, etc) who then have their time wasted (usually at the end of the day as they will simply carry on operating on those who HAVE turned up). And a waste of a theatre slot which could have been offered to someone desperate to come in but because of the starvation times for anaesthesia we can't offer them on the day.
It's a massive inconvenience to everyone and that includes other patients who WOULD or COULD have had that slot if the person who simply DNA'd that day didn't want it. It's incredibly frustrating to health professionals who see all that time wasted when they could have been treating someone else. And it's a drain on the NHS resources which are finite and shrinking as it is.
NB I work in paediatric surgery and we are more tolerant of DNA's because children can't come on their own; they are dependent on an adult to bring them. And it's galling when they really need to come to clinic for whatever problem they have or they really do need that operation and the parents simply don't turn up. If they are serial no-shows then we write the GP and copy the parents to try and encourage them. But short of turning up at their homes and forcing them into a car I don't know what else we can do.
i make appointments because i NEED them, i don`t deliberately miss them don`t you think i have a variety of techniques i have built up over the years? unfortunately they still fail because i am human, they are reasons, not excuses.
You cant need them that much if they can so easily slip your mind. I write mine in my diary (work and home), on a calendar that hangs next to the kettle so I see it every time I make a drink, the appointment slips are fixed onto my fridge with a magnet, plus I get texts from my GP the day before. You have a responsibility to other patients to turn up.
You cant need them that much if they can so easily slip your mind. I write mine in my diary (work and home), on a calendar that hangs next to the kettle so I see it every time I make a drink, the appointment slips are fixed onto my fridge with a magnet, plus I get texts from my GP the day before. You have a responsibility to other patients to turn up.
i have add and bipolar, i assume my inability to function like other people apparently can is down to that.
if i put up notes and calendars and the like they become so familiar i don`t notice them, besides which [without going into details] my living situation isn`t conducive to that kind of arrangement really.
i`m no different with meds, i need to take them, i know i need to take them and i want to take them yet i still struggle to stay on them, it only takes a tiny blip for it all to go tits up.
sometimes i get other people to message reminders to me over fakebook but that only works if they remember.
i make appointments because i NEED them, i don`t deliberately miss them don`t you think i have a variety of techniques i have built up over the years? unfortunately they still fail because i am human, they are reasons, not excuses.
And so do the people who could have had the said appointment. Your first couple of posts were bolshy, shifting the blame from you, and putting it on the NHS because you seem to find it unreasonable for them to expect you to ring when you can't attend, and making excuses for not doing so.
i have add and bipolar, i assume my inability to function like other people apparently can is down to that.
if i put up notes and calendars and the like they become so familiar i don`t notice them, besides which [without going into details] my living situation isn`t conducive to that kind of arrangement really.
i`m no different with meds, i need to take them, i know i need to take them and i want to take them yet i still struggle to stay on them, it only takes a tiny blip for it all to go tits up.
sometimes i get other people to message reminders to me over fakebook but that only works if they remember.
i do actually find it quite distressing myself.
That's all the more reason to get a phone, as you can set multiple reminders on them.
And so do the people who could have had the said appointment. Your first couple of posts were bolshy, shifting the blame from you, and putting it on the NHS because you seem to find it unreasonable for them to expect you to ring when you can't attend, and making excuses for not doing so.
it`s pointless trying to communicate my chaos to normal people lets just accept i`m a ****ing useless freak of nature.
I don't think that about you at all! I think you're one of the loveliest posters on this forum, all I'm doing is giving you an idea to help you remember to take your medication and remember your Drs appointments. Not only for your own benefit, but also for the benefit of others who may also need to see a doctor.
I think I'd like them look into why there is such a long wait for appointments (and rarely on time when you are waiting). What has happened to GP services that they have deteriorated so much? I was once taken ill abroad and upon arriving home, my GP was called out and he wanted me to go into hospital (I declined that offer). Without being asked (or expected to) he came to my house first thing in the morning before surgery to check we were okay and he called in again on his way home from surgery to make sure we were coping - I always knew he was a very special doctor but now I have a new found level admiration for him.
The GP on Question Time, last night, stated that thousands of GPs have resigned and gone to New Zealand following the suggestion of 7-day working week (which they would do in shifts anyway wouldn't they and call in locums) - GPs used to work 6 day weeks and covered night call outs; given that all that has changed, why are they more overworked now than they used to be when it was a longer working day and week?
I haven't missed one yet, but we have so much mail going missing that it would never surprise me. I am waiting for an appointment now and did receive a copy of a letter from the consultant to my gp stating that he "has offered" me an appointment but I have not received an appointment letter. I became so worried that it hadn't arrived I rang the hospital, and the receptionist checked the computer and there was no sign that a letter had been sent to me. I honestly don't know how long to wait before contacting them again. Anyone know how long it should take to receive an initial appointment?
My local NHS sends out a text the morning before the day of an appointment as a reminder, which is quite useful.
I think their failing is sending out just one letter for an appointment that is say, for 6 months time. Unless you actively use a calendar of a diary then it is very easy to forget. I have an appointment for next week but I could of sworn it was for near the end of July until I happened to look at the letter again when searching for something else. But a least I would of been reminded by a text.
My son's friend has a job in a hospital where he has to phone the patients the day before to remind them of appointments - a text system would surely be cheaper you'd imagine!
But yes, appointments are often made up to 6 months in advance so really easy to miss - my OH had a letter this week about a follow up in October- when you have multiple medical conditions it can be confusing but as far as I'm aware he's only ever missed one which was a dental appointment when that morning his GP had referred him straight to hospital - even then I phoned afterwards to apologise on his behalf.
I think something definitely needs to be done about missed appointments, though what I don't know. The surgery I'm with always displays how many patients missed appointments the previous month, and it's nearly always over 100. That's a ridiculous amount of appointments that could have gone to other people. My surgery uses the Patient Access website, which allows you to make appointments online, request repeat prescriptions, check what appointments you have coming up, and cancel any if necessary. It's pretty good, and they have an app too.
I think you have a good point but I wouldn't fine them but rather charge for the next appointment up front. it may seem the same difference but a fine is punitive, whereas if a person is only able to get an appointment if they pay, this will make them appreciate the free ones more.
The NHS is pretty useless at collecting the fees they are owed by people who aren't entitled to free treatment. Can't see them being any better at collecting fines from the general public.
regarding missed hospital appointments, I think half the time the hospital makes mistakes. My OH recently received a letter asking him to attend hospital and as he's self employed he missed a half days work. When he got there the consultant said "I can only apologise on behalf of the NHS because you should not be here as you have not had the tests done yet."
He lost an afternoons work and did a 50 mile round trip to hear this news. >:(
Same thing happened to my elderly Mum once and I received THREE letters all in the same days post asking me to attend an appointment and when I got there it was for the wrong hospital.
The only appointment I've ever missed was a dental check up. Our practice used to send out an appointment in the post about a month beforehand, to give you chance to rearrange if it wasn't convenient, and I totally forgot about it. I rang up to apologise as soon as I realised and they were ok about it, but said if I did it again I was off the books- fair enough!
They've since changed it to sending out a reminder to ring up and make an appointment yourself which probably makes more sense, and I think they even text you a reminder the day before.
If they've gone to the trouble to make an appointment because you're ill, I don't get why people don't bother turning up. Virtually everyone has a mobile phone these days or at least access to a phone, so there's no excuse for not cancelling.
I've only ever missed one appointment. It was with a specialist service and unfortunately I couldn't cancel it because my doctor never told me he was booking me onto it in the first place. He also told them the wrong address for me so when they sent me a letter confirming it, I didn't get it. The first thing I knew about it was three months after I was due to attend when a really snotty receptionist phoned up telling me I'd been dropped from their books for not attending or replying to their letters. Was a bit of a moment!
I know a girl who sent a letter to a clinic two months in advance of an appointment to tell them she couldn't go. Then, knowing the clinic was notoriously bad at admin she waited a week, phoned up to make sure they'd got the letter (they had) and was told it would be fine.
Later she tried to renew her prescription, only to find that the clinic had told her GP to stop giving it to her, because they'd discharged her from their care for missing said appointment. Like wtf
I once had to attend physio at my local hospital for around 8 appointments spread over 4 weeks.
I couldn't attend the last but one as I had a major family issue during the night.
I rang the out of hours answer phone service that was mentioned on the hospital letter to advise them that I could not attend this appointment but would attend the next one.
When I attended the next appointment and was booking in, I noticed the letters 'DNA' written next to my name. I asked what did that mean and I was told that I did not attend the last appointment and didn't inform them.
I explained that I did inform them exactly as advised by them in the letter and given time I could prove it by providing my telephone bill.
The girl on the desk then apologised and admitted that they rarely checked the answer phone for messages.
Had charging for missed appointments been in place then, I would have received an invoice for the charge. There is no way I would have paid it though.
Comments
I know. I rang 111 who arranged for him to go to an urgent care centre. After an initial examination they told me to take him straight to A&E which was packed, and it was ages before he was called in to triage. I agree that it was the hospital's fault but it still annoys me that people go for injuries that just need a sticking plaster.
I know you suffer with serious mental health issues that may affect your memory, but couldn't you keep a calender, set an alarm reminder on a phone/computer or let a friend/family member know so that they could remind you?
Absolutely >:(
It's incredibly selfish and self centred. And costs us as a nation. So much could be improved.
Quite. And this is ALL appointments, not just outpatients or GP consultations. There are a huge number of no-shows in radiology in our Trust - and as they are currently working weekends and evenings to try and clear the backlog because there are so many people waiting (because the service is over-subscribed) and there are people who would have killed to have that appointment that someone just 'missed' because they couldn't be bothered to pick up the phone and call to cancel it really isn't fair on anyone - radiology and other patients!
Believe it or not we get many no-shows for operations as well (and this is sometimes AFTER they have confirmed). The excuses that they give sometimes are laughable (although obviously there ARE genuine cases and they are fairly easy to spot and if someone calls me the day after and apologises because they forgot, or had the wrong day or some mishap occurred then that's fine; at least they bothered even if after the event. It's the ones who don't seem to care or the serial no-shows who really do frustrate everyone).
Clinics (and my consultant and his team have 5 per week) always have an average of 2 no-shows every clinic - which means 10 patients per week (520 per year). Again, the appointments are like gold dust because our service is so over-subscribed because we are a specialist unit covering a massive area.
So for the clinics you generally have a consultant sitting there for 15 minutes without a patient until the next one turns up, but clinics are also staffed by nurses (who take blood tests or urine samples) and clerks (who register patients as they arrive). On wards you have the nursing staff who are allocated the week previously dependent on how many beds are occupied and the surgeon, his team, the theatre staff (anaesthetist, scrub nurse, registrar, etc) who then have their time wasted (usually at the end of the day as they will simply carry on operating on those who HAVE turned up). And a waste of a theatre slot which could have been offered to someone desperate to come in but because of the starvation times for anaesthesia we can't offer them on the day.
It's a massive inconvenience to everyone and that includes other patients who WOULD or COULD have had that slot if the person who simply DNA'd that day didn't want it. It's incredibly frustrating to health professionals who see all that time wasted when they could have been treating someone else. And it's a drain on the NHS resources which are finite and shrinking as it is.
NB I work in paediatric surgery and we are more tolerant of DNA's because children can't come on their own; they are dependent on an adult to bring them. And it's galling when they really need to come to clinic for whatever problem they have or they really do need that operation and the parents simply don't turn up. If they are serial no-shows then we write the GP and copy the parents to try and encourage them. But short of turning up at their homes and forcing them into a car I don't know what else we can do.
You cant need them that much if they can so easily slip your mind. I write mine in my diary (work and home), on a calendar that hangs next to the kettle so I see it every time I make a drink, the appointment slips are fixed onto my fridge with a magnet, plus I get texts from my GP the day before. You have a responsibility to other patients to turn up.
i have add and bipolar, i assume my inability to function like other people apparently can is down to that.
if i put up notes and calendars and the like they become so familiar i don`t notice them, besides which [without going into details] my living situation isn`t conducive to that kind of arrangement really.
i`m no different with meds, i need to take them, i know i need to take them and i want to take them yet i still struggle to stay on them, it only takes a tiny blip for it all to go tits up.
sometimes i get other people to message reminders to me over fakebook but that only works if they remember.
i do actually find it quite distressing myself.
And so do the people who could have had the said appointment. Your first couple of posts were bolshy, shifting the blame from you, and putting it on the NHS because you seem to find it unreasonable for them to expect you to ring when you can't attend, and making excuses for not doing so.
That's all the more reason to get a phone, as you can set multiple reminders on them.
i can`t do anything about how you read things.
it`s pointless trying to communicate my chaos to normal people lets just accept i`m a ****ing useless freak of nature.
I don't think that about you at all! I think you're one of the loveliest posters on this forum, all I'm doing is giving you an idea to help you remember to take your medication and remember your Drs appointments. Not only for your own benefit, but also for the benefit of others who may also need to see a doctor.
No idea but the first stage in solving a problem is finding out why it is happening otherwise you solution may make things worse
Oh behave. Don't try and twist it now.
The GP on Question Time, last night, stated that thousands of GPs have resigned and gone to New Zealand following the suggestion of 7-day working week (which they would do in shifts anyway wouldn't they and call in locums) - GPs used to work 6 day weeks and covered night call outs; given that all that has changed, why are they more overworked now than they used to be when it was a longer working day and week?
My son's friend has a job in a hospital where he has to phone the patients the day before to remind them of appointments - a text system would surely be cheaper you'd imagine!
But yes, appointments are often made up to 6 months in advance so really easy to miss - my OH had a letter this week about a follow up in October- when you have multiple medical conditions it can be confusing but as far as I'm aware he's only ever missed one which was a dental appointment when that morning his GP had referred him straight to hospital - even then I phoned afterwards to apologise on his behalf.
Perhaps it could work both ways, then. If you turn up on time but are waiting over a set period you get compensation........
https://patient.emisaccess.co.uk/Account/Login?ReturnUrl=%2f
Totally agree.
See above.
He lost an afternoons work and did a 50 mile round trip to hear this news. >:(
Same thing happened to my elderly Mum once and I received THREE letters all in the same days post asking me to attend an appointment and when I got there it was for the wrong hospital.
They've since changed it to sending out a reminder to ring up and make an appointment yourself which probably makes more sense, and I think they even text you a reminder the day before.
If they've gone to the trouble to make an appointment because you're ill, I don't get why people don't bother turning up. Virtually everyone has a mobile phone these days or at least access to a phone, so there's no excuse for not cancelling.
I would have happily paid a fine for that as it was my fault but I wouldn't have paid for the other two as they were not my fault
I know a girl who sent a letter to a clinic two months in advance of an appointment to tell them she couldn't go. Then, knowing the clinic was notoriously bad at admin she waited a week, phoned up to make sure they'd got the letter (they had) and was told it would be fine.
Later she tried to renew her prescription, only to find that the clinic had told her GP to stop giving it to her, because they'd discharged her from their care for missing said appointment. Like wtf
I couldn't attend the last but one as I had a major family issue during the night.
I rang the out of hours answer phone service that was mentioned on the hospital letter to advise them that I could not attend this appointment but would attend the next one.
When I attended the next appointment and was booking in, I noticed the letters 'DNA' written next to my name. I asked what did that mean and I was told that I did not attend the last appointment and didn't inform them.
I explained that I did inform them exactly as advised by them in the letter and given time I could prove it by providing my telephone bill.
The girl on the desk then apologised and admitted that they rarely checked the answer phone for messages.
Had charging for missed appointments been in place then, I would have received an invoice for the charge. There is no way I would have paid it though.