'Missed medical appointments are a waste of time'-WHSCT

Sarah Groogan, Western Trust Director of Planning and Performance, said when a person does not keep their appointment, it means valuable time is wasted which could be used by another patient.

Figures released in relation to a query made by the Sentinel show that in the 2009 calendar year a total of 784 people failed to turn up at the Roe Valley Hospital for appointments with a consultant or a nurse.

This tallied to a non-attendance figure of 9.2 per cent. In that period a total of 7,756 outpatients attendances for such appointments were handled by the WHSCT.

In relation to appointments with allied health professionals which include physiotherapy, occupational therapy and podiatry, the non-attendance rate at the Roe Valley Hospital stood at 21.7 per cent, representing a total of 341 patients who did not turn up. Attendances for outpatient appointments with allied health professionals stood at 1,232 at the Roe Valley Hospital in that 12 month period.

Mrs Groogan said: "The Trust has been taking action to reduce the number of patients not turning up for an appointment and failing to notify the hospital. The cooperation of the public is essential if this non-attendance rate is to be reduced further. There may be good reasons why people are not able to make an appointment and the Trust acknowledges that on occasions it may have to reschedule a clinic, for example if an essential staff member is sick. However, where possible we would ask patients with an appointment to let the hospital know if they won't be able to attend and to do this at the earliest opportunity.

"As part of its attempts to reduce non-attendance, the Trust has in place a system for booking outpatient appointments where patients are given a choice of dates and times of clinics so a time to best fit their schedule can be arranged. The Trust has also been alerting people to the numbers of missed appointment by publicising non-attendance figures in outpatient areas."

In Londonderry, the statistics for non-attendance at Altnagelvin Hospital revealed that a shocking 13,134 people failed to turn up for an appointment with a consultant or a nurse-a non-attendance rate of 8.5 per cent. In that period the hospital handled a total of 141, 562 outpatient appointments. In relation to appointments with allied health professionals at Altnagelvin in the same period, 16,472 people failed to show up. This represented a non-attendance figure of 11.7 per cent. Attendances in that period for outpatient appointments at Altnagelvin with an allied health professional stood at 123, 919.