Keep it or cancel it

BACK TO MAIN INDEX

There are numerous ways to cancel an appointment if you are no longer able to attend the practice for your scheduled appointment. 

A minimum of 1 hour's notice must be given to successfully cancel an appointment. Where inadequate notice is given of your intention to cancel an appointment, the appointment will not be cancelled and this will be flagged as a 'Did Not Attend' on your record.

You can cancel your appointment:

• Via text: All patients should receive a text reminder 1 day before their scheduled appointment. You can simply respond with the word 'CANCEL' should you wish to cancel your appointment. If you have recently updated your contact details, please update the practice here.
• Online via Patient Access: Patients can cancel and reschedule their GP appointment online.
• By contacting the practice over the phone: As a preference we ask that patient's use one of the avenues stated above to cancel an appointment to reduce waiting times on the phone. Please only contact the practice to cancel if you are unable to cancel via one of the above methods.

Our practice currently loses around 3,000 GP appointments a year due to patients failing to attend or cancel their appointments. This costs the NHS around £70,000 a year, increases wait times, and wastes valuable appointments that could be used by other patients.

IMPORTANT Repeated failure to attend and cancel booked appointments is a significant waste of NHS resources and may lead to a review of your registration at the practice.