NHS Lanarkshire is asking patients who cannot or do not want to attend their appointment to contact the service and cancel so the time can be allocated to another patient.
As a result of not attending, scheduled appointments impacts on NHS staff time and stops other patients from being seen quicker.
The problem of Did Not Attends (DNAs) is that the time allocated to someone who does not show up is time that another patient who needs to be seen is having to wait longer. Patients are already waiting longer than we would like and wasted appointments do not help either our staff or others waiting for an appointment.
If you are not able to attend your appointment let us know and we will offer you another appointment as soon as possible.
Lynn Mack, Head of Access for NHS Lanarkshire said: “We understand that there are instances where someone cannot make an appointment due to personal circumstances. All we are asking is that you pick up the phone and ring the number of your appointment letter as soon as possible and let us know you cannot manage and want to reschedule.
“We would much rather someone cancels or rearranges their appointment if they need to, so that another patient can be seen instead. This could make such a big difference to everyone involved.
“There is no need to worry about being taken of the waiting list if you cannot manage as this is not the case. We will offer you another appointment as soon as possible.
“We have already put in place a number of initiatives to help to remind people about upcoming appointments. This includes contacting patients via text messaging ahead of their appointments to confirm that they will still be attending and we are also looking at increasing the use of virtual clinics to help improve access for patients.”
