Late Appointment Arrivals

Posted on March 28th, 2023

Late appointment arrivals

To adhere to the appointment schedule and to ensure that all patients receive an excellent level of service, late arrivals are to be managed as follows:

• Less than ten minutes late – the receptionist will:

• Mark the patient as having arrived, advising them that the clinician may already be seeing the next patient
• Advise the patient of the importance of attending appointments on time and that the clinician will be informed and assess if they can see them.

• More than ten minutes late – the receptionist will advise the patient that they have missed their appointment and:

• Offer the patient an appointment later during that session or that day (if an appointment is available)
• Discuss the patient with the GP or nurse and, if they agree and the patient is willing to wait, advise that they will be seen at the end of that session
• Ask the patient to book the next available appointment

NB – It is at the discretion of the clinician whether the patient is seen.  If there is a clinical need, the clinician will advise the reception staff accordingly.  Administrative staff are not to interrupt a clinician during an appointment and should, instead, send a screen message.