Patients in Gedling borough will be able to easily manage their appointments online and through their phones and devices thanks to a new service being launched by Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust.
The move is expected to reduce the number of missed appointments that cost the local NHS tens of thousands of pounds each year.
Patients will be able to securely log on to view and manage their appointments. The service will send appointment reminders via text and email and allow patients to easily cancel them if they need to. Later this year the service will expand and allow patients to rebook their own appointments at a time that is suitable for them.
Duncan Hanslow, Divisional General Manager for the Clinical Support Division at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “We are really pleased to be introducing this service for all patients. We have been trialling it and the feedback from patients has been really positive.
“It will make managing your appointment and contacting the NUH booking team much easier and give you more choice as to how you can do this.
“It will also help to reduce the instances of people not attending appointments. We know there’s a number of reasons that people may miss their appointment and the reminder service will hopefully help to reduce that.”
Missed appoints are estimated to cost the Trust tens of thousands each year. It’s thought that the new system could help to reduce the number by up to a third.
Around 28,000 messages will be sent to those whose numbers are already on the system in the next few days. The new service will mean that all patients who have future appointments with the Trust and have their mobile number or email address registered will be sent a message informing them that they will now receive appointment reminders. They can easily opt-out by responding ‘STOP’ to the text or email they receive.
They will also be able to access a new patient portal to see and manage their appointments. It will also offer updated patient information showing where outpatient clinics are and other useful information.
Patients can access more information and the appointment portal on the NUH website here
