Did Not Attend (DNA) Policy

A DNA is defined as an appointment not attended as arranged, whether in person or over the phone. This includes appointments not cancelled with a minimum of 2 hours’ notice to make the appointment available for other patients to use.

Presently, missed appointments account for around up to 1200 minutes per week of wasted clinical appointment time. These are equivalent up to 120 appointments that we would otherwise offer other patients. This equates to one doctor/clinician being paid but seeing patients for almost 4 out of 5 days a week.

This leads to longer waiting times for appointments which in turn cause increased frustration for patients and are a waste of limited resources. At a time of high pressures on general practice and in the NHS generally we have to ensure resources are used effectively.

For the above reasons and in line with regional and national policy many NHS organisations including both GP surgeries and Hospitals would issue a warning after one missed appointment, then a final warning if another appointment is missed and consider patient removal if 3 appointments are missed.

When the threshold for deduction / removal has not been met a practice may also consider requesting a patient to agree to an NHS Behavioural Contract. This articulates what the Patient can expect from the Practice (in terms of how they are treated, the services provided etc) but also what is expected of the Patient by the Practice. More information about our Good Behaviour Guidance Agreement

Our Patient Participation Group has consistently raised the negative impact that DNAs have on other patients and support removal of such patients who fail to attend multiple appointments.

Additional Points

We request that patients book the appropriate type of appointment (ie face to face, telephone or eConsult). If a telephone call is booked, you should be prepared to come in at very short notice in person if required for an examination. This to avoid further appointments for an examination that could have been given to someone else.

If you have a telephone appointment please ensure your phone is to hand and you are available to answer up to 90 minutes after your scheduled time (GPs so very complex issues that cannot be foreseen and may be running late).

Out of Area registration is intended to facilitate improved face to face care for suitable patients as outlined by our policy, that all patients are made aware of at the time of registration or moving out of area. See our Practice Boundary

We ask you only book appointments that you intend to use and that you arrive on time and make provision to account for traffic or other public transport/commuting delays, finding parking and waiting to check-in for arrival.

Please note that if you live out of area and find it hard to attend in person or on time then it would not be appropriate for you to remain registered with us and we would request that you register more locally to you. 

We offer reminder mobile text messages about upcoming appointments (if booked more than 24 hours in advance). This system can also be used to cancel any unwanted appointments simply be replying “CANCEL” to the message.

Alternatively, you can cancel via the NHS App or another patient access app or simply by calling the surgery and speaking to reception.

Please always ensure your contact details including your address and mobile are up to date. Please ensure you have a UK mobile number and that it is up to date, you can do this via our website. Update your contact details.

Please always ensure your contact details including your address and mobile are up to date. Please ensure you have a UK mobile number and that it is up to date, you can do this via our website

If a patient misses multiple appointments without good reason, then we may have no alternative but to request their removal from our practice. This is in line with the regional and national guidance as well as our Patient Participation Group recommendations.