28.08.12
Trusts urged to use technology to encourage attendance
The Government has urged hospitals to adopt innovative ways to improve appointment attendance, as the Department of Health reports that one in ten appointments were missed by patients last year.
The number of ‘did not attends’ (DNAs) fell by 250,000 on the previous year, statistics showed, but this still impacts on other patients and costs a significant amount of money each year.
Schemes such as sending patient reminders via text or conducting non-physical assessments via Skype should be encouraged throughout the NHS in order to reduce this number further.
Health minister Simon Burns, said: “It is important that people realise that not turning up for their agreed appointments, means other patients care might be delayed and doctors and nurses time could be wasted, costing tax payers money.
“Patients often have genuine reasons to miss an appointment, but it can have a big impact on the care we can offer to other patients. It is important that the public understand we have responsibilities too, like not wasting precious NHS resources.
“I’m glad to see that the NHS is increasingly using simple ideas such as texting their patients before an appointment or seeing them via Skype. These could have a dramatic impact and I want to see more hospitals making use of them.”
During 2011/12 across England there were 5,450,779 DNAs in total out of 52,841,788 total attendances seen.
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