Establish

1
Implementation Checklist
Patients will be able to book their appointment
at the point of referral. This will require
providers to release appointments with a high
level of assurance they will be honoured the
following steps are designed to help providers
manage the challenge of releasing slots,
particularly beyond 6 weeks
Establish consultant availability
Establish a single Appointment Centre
Model clinical service delivery
Focus on follow ups
Focus on patient information
Set Standards of Service
2
Set Standards of Service
Ensure DNAs do not increaseTarget of a maximum
of X DNA rate in each service

Ensure hospital cancelled appointments do not
increaseLess than X of all appointments
cancelled and rebooked
Improving the systemPatients able to book their
appointments within X working days of the
decision to referPatients provided with one
number to call to make, rearrange and cancel
Ensure referrals are received within X working
days of the decision to referEnsure referrals
have been clinically reviewed within X working
days of receipt Patients to receive a copy of
referral informationPatients to receive a
reminder letters X weeks before the appointment
3
Establish consultant availability
Communicate the benefits of determining forward
commitments better patient service, improved
clinic planning, more efficient system
Review Annual Leave Policy with medical staff
Co-ordinate team absence. Work with clinicians
and medical secretaries to establish a single
weekly forward load system of clinical
availability.
Agree with consultants who can review referrals
or cover clinics in their absence
Use trend analysis to model patterns of clinic
delivery
Focus on problematic areas
4
Establish a single Appointment Centre
Log and Track all referrals and appointments
through the Appointment Centre.
Ensure referrals are received and reviewed within
Standards of Service
Provide one number for the Appointment Centre and
an extended hours service in the evenings and
weekends.
Ensure IT functionality and appointment
management functions are able to obtain and offer
the next series of chronological appointments for
each service in 13-week blocks.
Use trend analysis and model clinic delivery to
commission and offer an appropriate number of
appointment types in each clinic.
Focus on problematic areas
5
Model clinical service delivery
Where do referrals originate from?
What resources were needed to support clinic
delivery ?
How many clinics were delivered and when? How
many of each appointment type was delivered at
each clinic?
Who can see which type of appointment?
Is there a pattern of clinic over run?
Cancellation? Unused slots?
Is there a pattern of annual leave, study leave
and emergency cover?
6
Focus on follow ups
Partially book follow-ups to increase capacity
and flexibility of clinics.
Focus on patient information
Provide information on how to make / change
appointments, what to expect, and the cost to the
NHS of not attending an appointment
Provide one number for patients to call to make
and change appointments, which is available at
evenings and Saturday mornings.
Send reminder letters, giving enough time for
appointment staff to fill the slot if the patient
is unable to attend.
Use letters, telephone, email and texts to
contact patients and confirm attendance. If a
patient DNAs contact the GP
Focus efforts on specialities with high patient
DNA rates