Appointment Reminder Service

Barnet and Chase Farm Hospital Trust launched its FREE appointment reminder service earlier this year. We can now deliver a discreet reminder direct to your mobile telephone or, if you have not supplied us with a mobile number, you will receive an automated voice message on your landline.

Why we have launched this service?

It is important for all patients that they receive their clinic appointment in the shortest possible time. At theTrust we continually work to ensure our appointment capacity is managed to a maximum to accommodate as many patients as we can. However, national statistics show that during 2009/10 over six million patients failed to attend their NHS appointments, wasting 8% of the services entire capacity.
 
During the last year at the Trust over 59,000 patients did not attend their Outpatient appointments, both due to unintentionally forgetting the date or by failing to let us know that they no longer needed to be seen. In line with the Trust’s Access Policy most patients who do not attend their appointments will be automatically discharged back to their GP and will have to seek re-referral back to the Trust in order for their treatment to continue. By providing a FREE reminder we aim to remind you of your appointment and also give you the opportunity to cancel or request a rearranged appointment if required. This will help us to see more patients, more quickly.  

How it works

If we hold a mobile telephone number for you, we will send you a free text message approximately one week before your appointment is due. This text will offer the option, if necessary, for you to request a cancellation or contact telephone number to call to rearrange your appointment.

If we do not hold a mobile telephone number for you, we will send an automated message to your landline, with the option for you (if necessary) to request a cancellation or to rearrange your appointment.

On the day before the appointment, we will send you a reminder alert.

Please let us have your most up to date contact details

Please ensure we have your most recent mobile and land line telephone number. You can do this when you make you appointment with us, or by letting the receptionist know when you visit. Alternatively, you can call us on 020 8375 8778 or email your details to us. If your computer is set up for this, you can open a template email which you can fill in and send to us. Alternatively, copy the following template into a new email and send it to optout.bcfh@nhs.net.

Name (required):

Date of birth (required):

Email (required):

Address:

Mobile telephone (required):

Home telephone (required):

Opting out of the reminder service

If you do not wish to receive an appointment reminder it is possible for you to opt of the service. You can do this by calling 020 8375 8778, letting a clinic receptionist know next time you visit clinic, or by emailing optout.bcfh@nhs.net. If you choose to email us, please include your name and date of birth and we will ensure that you are removed from the system. You can opt back in at any time by contacting us by the same methods

If you have previously opted out of receiving an appointment reminder voice message direct to your land line, you do not need to opt out of the service again. However, if we hold your mobile telephone number, you will still receive a discreet text message reminder unless you advise us you also wish to be excluded from this service. 

How will we use your information?

Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust Fair Processing Notice

Your contact details are important to us; ensuring that we can contact you in regard to appointment bookings, appointment cancellations and as means of reminding you of your forthcoming appointments. 
 
The contact information we store will only be used by us in relation to hospital business. We will not pass on your information to any other party other than the third party company used to deliver our free of charge Appointment Reminder Service, who are also obliged to keep your information secure and used only for that purpose. All personal information will be kept in line with Department of Health Retention Period Policy.

Further information

For further information please call 020 8375 8778 or Nicola Aristodemou, Outpatient Team Manager on 020 8375 1323.