Each year, more than 32,000 outpatient appointments are missed across CHFT. Now our outpatient improvement programme (OPUG) team are on a mission to encourage people to tell us if they can't come for an appointment.

Planned Care Programme Manager, Louise Corp, said: "When patients attend their appointments or let us know if they can’t, it helps us make the most of our clinical teams, reduce waiting times, and make sure care is available when everyone needs it most. 

"As well as this campaign there are lots of things we are also doing on an operational level to improve the way patients can communicate with us. It means they have easier ways to tell us when they can't make it. Lots of engagement and ideas have come from our colleagues in our Outpatient Improvement User Groups (OPUGs) which are also helping us drive improvements.

"Just one of these pieces of work is being led by colleagues Abi Rawnsley and Vicki Drummond. They are supporting work to link with patients who regularly do not attend and have a health inequalities flag in their patient record to understand how we can support them to come for their appointment.

"Thank you to colleagues for being a part of this work."

Patients are being reminded they can manage their appointments by:

• Using the details on their appointment letter
• Through the NHS App
• Responding to text message reminders
• Signing up for direct messages 

People are also being reminded that every missed appointment has a cost:

• It means they may wait longer for the care they need
• Another patient could have used their slot - even if it's only a few hours notice, the appointment can be offered to someone else
• Each missed appointment costs the NHS £177 - that’s £5.6 million a year for CHFT alone

You can also print the attached poster to put up in your areas or encourage people to visit the CHFT website for information on how to manage their appointment.