Review of waiting lists | News

As part of an ongoing national initiative commissioned by NHS England (NHSE), we will be regularly reviewing all patients who are on our waiting lists for outpatient appointments and procedures/surgical treatments.

This involves us contacting those patients who are eligible and asking for some further information about whether you would like to remain on the waiting list or no longer wish to go ahead with your appointment or treatment.

Whilst we are sorry that you may have been waiting for some time and understand how distressing this can be, it is important that you provide this information to assist us in arranging appointments/treatments in the most appropriate clinic, location, and time frame.

We will be regularly reviewing waiting lists and contacting eligible patients, at regular intervals, via the following methods:

• Patients Know Best (PKB) notification
• SMS text message
• Letter

The type of contact you receive will depend on your individual circumstances, such as whether we hold a correct mobile phone number for you or if you are already registered with PKB.

Our clinical teams have reviewed our waiting lists to ensure that patients with the greatest need are treated first. Following this, by contacting patients we aim to understand if there have been any changes in their circumstances and if they wish to remain on our waiting list for their outpatient appointment or procedure/surgical treatment.

By regularly reviewing our waiting list and gathering this information, we can ensure that we understand the requirements of our patients whilst also prioritising care for our most clinically urgent patients.

If you are contacted by us, please provide the requested information by completing the waiting list form. The form will either be on the back of the letter, if you receive one, or will be an online form on our patient portal, called Patients Know Best.

Find out more about Patients Know Best and how to sign up

Please note that if you are on more than one waiting list you may receive a communication (letter, SMS text or Patients Know Best notification) from us more than once. It is important that you check which waiting list the communication is referring to and respond to each one separately.

As the waiting list reviews are conducted regularly, you may also receive communication about the same referral more than once. In this instance, as your circumstances may have changed, we would ask that you complete the questionnaire again.