Don’t be a DNA
A DNA is someone who Did Not Attend an appointment at the
surgery and did not tell us beforehand. The Doctor or Nurse were
waiting, but the patient did not attend.
DNAs are a serious problem for the NHS. Research shows that
around 13 million GP appointments and 6 million practice nurse
appointments are missed each year.
At the GP Practice, on average, 80 patients DNA appointments each month, that’s
960 appointments each year (the equivalent of over 13 hours of clinician time and
13 hours admin time per month) not only is this a waste of valuable administrative
resources, it also means the number of appointments available for patients is
reduced by each DNA that occurs.
Due to an increase in the number of wasted appointments through patients failing
to attend without informing the practice, it has become necessary to implement
the following Policy:
• If you fail to attend an appointment without letting us know, you will be sent a Text message if there are any specific problems preventing you
from letting us know.
• If you fail to attend Three consecutive appointments without informing us, we will write to you reiterating our practice policy.
• If you fail to attend Three consecutive appointments, you may be removed from the Practice list and will have to find an alternative Doctor.
• If you are unable to attend your appointment, please let
us know as soon as you can, it only takes a phone call,
just telephone 02083991779 and tell us you are
unable to attend, we can then offer the appointment to
another patient.
Thank you for your co-operation.