To think that if you cancel on the day with the NHS, you should be put to the bottom of the list?

YANBU OP. It's not too much to ask that people call to cancel with enough notice that the slot can be given to someone else, which they would make sure they did if it was an appointment for a hairdresser/nails or any other service provider that would charge a fee for a late notice cancellation or no show.

Gosh there’s some rude people about today

I had an appointment a couple of weeks ago that was moved (both backwards and forwards in date) 7 times in 5 months, I did manage to turn up at the right date and time but it felt like pot luck by the end. I've also missed an appointment for my daughter before as the letter turned up after the appointment time. It feels like very basic and achievable admin could reduce a lot of missed appointments before you can then properly address genuinely 'wasted' appointments.

That's a bit rude. Your opening post wasn't clear really eg you haven't said what your job is

We get letters, but sometimes they arrive days after the appointment.

Also need to add, I’m impressed that anybody can cancel an NHS appointment these days. They have nobody answering phones, it’s always a recorded message asking you to leave a message, but nobody ever calls you back. It’s extremely frustrating.

Not sure about anyone else's circumstances but a taxi to our local hospital there and back would cost about £120.00 not easy to find.

You’ve literally been there less than a week. Come back after a month when you realise most admin workers and staff in NHS are incompetent.

I mean RTT rules mean you can’t “put them to the bottom of the list” regardless of 2 strikes and you’re out etc. Rules suite dictate the patient needs to be clinically reviewed and consultant agree to remove them from the in patient or outpatient waiting list and (for the former,) brought back to clinic or discharged back to GP.

op doesn’t your place operate a standby list? Thats how we’ve mitigated our cancelled ops wastage. We also have someone ring the patient 24-48 hours before to check all still good to go ahead.

but I agree the DNA when you can see letters and text reminders have gone out in the appropriate time frame (appreciate this doesn’t always happen) are really disappointing and frustrating. As is the surgeon/anaesthetic turning up too late, or the kit being wet and unusable and because we’re clamping down on money there’s no spare kits around to use, or because there’s no beds.

There wouldn't have been time. Unfortunately, our local taxi service is not terribly reliable.

you leave the car and call a taxi?

Perhaps be a little less judgmental. You have no idea why people have cancelled. Or, more importantly, what is their urgency/clinical need, and what is needed to get them through the door.

I've only ever cancelled one hospital appointment, due to heavy snow and a road blocked by abandoned vehicles. Would that be up to your standards?

Also, remember that it works both ways. I was half way through a week of radiotherapy appointments when the hospital rang and changed my appt to a hospital 64 miles away, at two hours notice. I then entered into to a 'Challenge Anneka' race across the country to get there in time, and ensure the series of treatments was not interrupted. I didn't complain, I just got on with it.

But I do understand your frustration. Perhaps call them all, the previous day. It might help.

We've had multiple appointments cancelled on US on the day, most memorable when I was sitting in the waiting room. There was another where the date and time on the letter was an error and they asked me how I got the letter 🙄

Last dentist appointment was an hour and a half past it's time because the dentist arrived late, that was even more annoying as it was private.

Ah imagine. A letter coming saying it's time and please book your appointment online? That's like a different dimension dream healthcare that.

Some days it's unavoidable. I was due a scan - came out to get in the car and the brake warning light came on. Was the car safe to drive? I didn't know and called out the AA. It was half an hour before my appointment but couldn't take the risk.

I cancelled the appointment and as it turned out, the brakes needed doing. It would have been safe to drive a few miles up the road but I couldn't know that. Fortunately, I've got an appointment reset for next month.

Should I be penalised for that? I was being careful.

We operate a '2 strikes and you are out' policy. Of course people get sick on the day, their childcare falls through etc, so we allow for 1 missed or same day cancellation. They go to bottom of list. On 2nd time they are discharged back to gp. Unfortunately wait lists are so long and appt so precious, we have to be a bit strict, otherwise everyone ends up waiting even longer

Yes, and I'd like to be able to book an appointment online, not have a time and day sent to me and then have to call during certain hours to change it.

I would like letters with appointments sent out, before the appointment while we're on.

Why are so many of your patients so nervous?

DM used to do this all the time. However, many times they booked her in for things she didn't want, they didn't discuss it with her properly, and she didn't press her case of not wanting the treatments. If I happened to catch these appointments, I cancelled them in her behalf, but often she just didn't turn up. Infuriating.

See also being pressed by ambulance crew to go to hospital, then checking herself out, and...

See also prescribing meds she had no intention of taking. Drawers full. Also infuriating.

You make no sense at all.

Perfect for the NHS I guess. Maybe get back to work and stop wasting public money on mumsnet.

I think if you miss or change 2 appointments that can happen already - my colleagues partner has multiple health conditions and has been threatened with this when they tried to change an appointment (for legitimate reason) and they had missed an appointment because they didn't recieve the letter with date on until the day after they should have been there!

Cancelling what?