Attending outpatients

Your outpatient appointment journey

Your GP or referrer will let you know that you are being referred to hospital. Your GP or referrer sends your clinical details to us to be clinically assessed by our clinicians. Patients are seen according to their clinical priority.

Many patients are referred via the national electronic booking system e-Referral Service (e-RS).

Unfortunately, we are dealing with long wait times for some outpatient appointments. Patients are prioritised by our doctors, according to their clinical urgency, which means waiting times can vary.

We are currently working hard to reduce maximum wait times for outpatient appointments across the Trust.

Click here to change your appointment date or time.

We will send you an appointment letter with details of your appointment as soon as something suitable is available. Please read your appointment letter carefully.

If you cannot attend, please let us know as soon as possible by calling the contact number of your appointment team. This number will be on your appointment letter.

We work in partnership with Patient Knows Best, a handheld patient record software, which enables us to send appointment letters via the NHS App. Find out more about Patient Knows Best.

We will keep in touch with you while you are waiting for your appointment, specifically at 12, 26, and 52 weeks to check if you still need your appointment. Please make sure we have an up-to-date mobile phone number for you so that we can stay in touch.

See further information on text messages for outpatient appointments.

NHS referral updates for patients

From 11 September 2026, you may receive more updates from the NHS after you have been referred for hospital care.

We know that waiting to hear what is happening after a referral can sometimes feel uncertain. New NHS notifications are being introduced to give you more information while your referral is being reviewed.

You may receive a notification to let you know that your referral has been received and is being reviewed, and another when your referral has been accepted.

Depending on the contact details and preferences held for you, these updates may come through the NHS App, email or text message.

You do not need to do anything when you receive one of these messages. It is simply an update to reassure you that your referral is progressing. The hospital team will contact you when there is more information or when they need you to do something.

If you use the NHS App, you may also be able to see information about your referral there.

These new notifications are being introduced nationally by the NHS to help keep patients better informed while they wait.

Would you like to say thank you, make a comment, provide feedback or get an answer to a concern? We are always interested to hear from patients, relatives, and carers about our services and the care we provide.

Contact patient experience.

Will I have to come to the hospital for my appointment?

Appointments can be delivered:

Face to face at one of our hospital sites
Via a secure online video link (See more details on virtual appointments)
Via telephone (please ensure we have an up to date telephone number for you)

You will be under the care of a consultant and their team of doctors. You may not see the consultant at every visit and may see one of the other members of the team.

We understand that you may need to bring children with you, but please note we do not provide child-minding facilities.

What should I do if I cannot keep my appointment?

Your appointment is important and you should always try to keep it.

To request to reschedule or cancel your appointment, complete our short cancellation form or call the number on your appointment letter.

Please note that if you fail to attend your appointment without letting us know or repeatedly cancel your appointment, we will refer your notes to your clinician for review and this may result in you being discharged from the hospital and referred back to your GP.

What is a chaperone?

When you attend your appointment, you may need to be examined by a doctor as part of your assessment or treatment. Sometimes this examination is of an intimate nature, depending on your symptoms or condition. If this is required, we will always offer you a chaperone. For more information on this, please discuss with the nurse when attending for your appointment.

Can I have an interpreter at my appointment?

If you need an interpreter, we can arrange this. Please call the number on your appointment letter to let us know the language you require.

Can I opt-out of having trainees at my appointment?

Our Trust is committed to teaching, training, and research to support staff development and improve healthcare. Staff or students in training may attend consultations for this purpose (alongside a qualified member of staff delivering the appointment). Staff may also ask you to be involved in our research. You can opt out if you do not want trainees to attend.