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Doctors text patients a 'don't forget' message
A DOCTORS' surgery in Gainsborough is fighting back against absent patients by texting out appointment reminders.
Pottergate surgery on Vanessa Drive started texting patients last week to remind them of times and urge them to get in touch if there is a problem with attending.
The surgery has one of the worst attendance records in Lincolnshire, with nearly one in ten appointments missed.
In March, 99 people did not turn up or call to cancel their appointments, wasting over 25 hours of doctors and nurses time.
Four other Lincolnshire GPs surgeries joined Pottergate in texting reminders to patients.
Altogether, the University Health Centre in Lincoln, Lincoln's Arboretum and Burton Road surgeries, Metheringham surgery and Pottergate surgery had over 139 wasted hours in March.
Tony McIntyre, head of practices at Lincolnshire Community Health Service, is based at Pottergate surgery. He said the real problem is not wasting GPs time, but preventing other patients from benefiting from available appointments.
”People do not arrive (DNA) for lots of reasons: sometimes they forget, sometimes they feel better. Sometimes we get people missing appointments on the same day they made them,” he said.
“Sometimes we have a full surgery and people can’t get in. When someone doesn’t turn up the receptionists get frustrated because they know other people want to see us.”
The text messages are already starting to help, as patients think it is useful to be reminded. Pottergate surgery is keeping tabs on who receives a text message reminder and does not arrive for their appointment anyway, to see if the scheme is cost-effective.
Dr McIntyre said even an hours notice is enough time to pass appointments on:
”We really would like patients to ring us and cancel their appointments if they are not going to take them on, because it gives us the opportunity to offer them to other patients.”
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Weather for Gainsborough
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 11 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 24 mph
Wind direction: East
