We want to cancel appointments if a patient is over 10 minutes late
Can we do this, and is it a good idea? Three experts advise
Dr Laura Edwards: Find out which staff it affects, then write a policy between you
Late patients are frustrating, especially in the busy days I all now face. There are no rules stating that patients have to be seen at any time between 8am-6.30pm – you simply need to meet their reasonable needs as a practice.
But it can be difficult to assess clinical need without seeing the patient – refusal to see can cause significant problems down the line. There is no straightforward black and white answer to the ‘how late?’ question.
I would advise developing a practice policy with staff members involved. You could then create a policy which you could use internally and put the advice on your surgery website.
However, it is unwise to get into battles with patients and you also need to be sympathetic to circumstances – when you see patients late you can refer to your practice policy as your approach and educate them for the next time.
If there are persistent offenders with no good reason then you can reasonably use the policy but I would advise documenting in the notes the warnings the patient has been given at previous appointments.
There have been instances where patients are refused to be seen and have had a health emergency later that day – that is a larger problem than seeing them. Options might include seeing them at the end of surgery or briefly assessing and then rearranging according to need – there is no one single answer to this.
We would however always advise that it is better to resolve situations there and then with the patient.
Dr Laura Edwards is medical director of Wessex Local Medical Committees.
Dr Harry Yoxall: Avoid hard-and-fast rules
The essential services clauses in the GMS contract do not specify how a practice should organise its appointment system, but it is worth noting that this section does speak of services being provided in a way determined by the practice ‘in discussion with the patient’. With the growing expectation that patients should be involved in decision making , and it being good business sense to consult customers about service changes, your first step should be to talk to your patient participation group. And would the GPs expect their patients to ask for a new appointment if the doctor was running 10 minutes late?
It is usually unwise to introduce rigid rules about appointment booking, and better to ensure your reception staff are well trained and able to use their experience and discretion. If a young mother with a poorly child has been offered an immediate appointment but is held up in the traffic it makes no sense for her to be sent away for being late, especially if the child turns out to have meningitis.
If you must have a rule, it is probably better that late patients should be offered a choice of re-booking or waiting until the end of the surgery, and persistent offenders – whose lives are usually chaotic anyway – may need to have tailored arrangements made.
But the real question here is why this has become a significant problem for the practice and perhaps a thorough review of its systems would suggest a way it could be ‘engineered out’.
Dr Harry Yoxall is chair of Somerset LMC.
Dr Beverley Ward: Audit the problem to decide how severe it is
From a medico-legal point of view, you may be exposing yourself to complaints if you cancel appointments in this way. It may be that the patient is harmed due to a delay in diagnosis if not seen that day, for example.
A patient who arrives late may be dissatisfied if they are expected to return later or even another day, which could also lead to complaints. Bear in mind that there may be extenuating circumstances for the lateness such as that the patient is extremely unwell, disabled, has poor mental health or is very elderly.
Given that doctors have an ethical responsibility to treat patients on the basis of clinical need, and must be readily accessible to patients seeking advice and support ,and make adjustments for the disabled, such a rule may even lead to a complaint to the GMC.
Rather than having a blanket rule about lateness, it may be more appropriate to offer the late patient a chance to rebook if not urgent or to try to slot them in between other appointments if they need to be seen urgently. If a particular patient regularly arrives late for an appointment, consider discussing the reason for the late running with them, explaining the repercussions it has on the running of the practice.
Consider an audit of missed appointments and patients who arrive late. If you discover it is a major problem, there may be other actions you can take to help patients navigate the appointments process. Text reminders may help, though I advise practices to seek patient’s specific consent to opt-in to texting. You may also want to review the information you publish on your website and in your information leaflet so that patients are aware of your policy on late arrivals.
Dr Beverley Ward is a medico-legal adviser for the MDU.
Readers' comments (28)
Anonymous | GP Partner03 Dec 2014 11:19pm
Waffley answers as always.
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Anonymous | GP Partner04 Dec 2014 8:07am
I run a simple system, under 20 mins late hang around and be seen when someone else is late or at the end, over 20 minutes late be offered a fresh appointment or if the condition is said to be urgent hang around to be seen at the end.
Back this with a policy of removing the habitually late "3 strikes and you are out" and it is manageable.
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Anonymous | GP Partner04 Dec 2014 10:28am
If the patient is late but still within the order of the list ie if I'm running late then they get seen in order. If by being late they delay a surgery running to time the I see them at the end.
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Anonymous | GP Partner04 Dec 2014 12:26pm
If a patient is late, you will not be cancelling an appointment, they will have missed it!
It is reasonable to say " You have missed your appointment and I cannot see you in another patients' booked slot, but I am happy to fit you in at the end"
This is what any other human being with an appointment system would do.
You don't get airlines saying " your plane has left, but will will kick another passenger off the next flight so we can fit you in"
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Vincenzo Pascale | Salaried GP04 Dec 2014 5:04pm
Usually i let the last 30 minutes of my day free from appointments. In that time i see the patients that were in late during the day, or/and urgency(i see emergency in every time they appear of course).if in that day there are not latecomers or urgencies i use that time to organize my surgery trying to improve the fluidity ofthe job
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Anonymous | NHS Manager04 Dec 2014 5:11pm
From a patient prespective, there are so many obstacles these days many out of our control i.e traffic jams. Most patients endeavour to get to the Practice on time (when they can get an appointment) only to find that it is the GP that is running late (sometimes up to an hour) does the patient have any comeback?? i would put up a large sign in the Practice to say that consistent lateness and missed appointments will not be tolerated same as I would put that the GP where possible will see the patient within 10 minutes of arrival at the Practice. (both parties can be given the chance to explain when the agreement is broken)
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Anonymous | Sessional/Locum GP04 Dec 2014 5:22pm
What about when we keep patients waiting up to 40 mins over spot time also depends on reason not all pts drive we seem to be missing what we are here for No
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Anonymous | GP Partner04 Dec 2014 6:18pm
Something about the train having left springs to mind. Patients are generally not late for trains, buses, planes they arrive early to ensure it is not missed. I would not expect to be treated any differently nor would I treat any service provider differently as a customer.
10 minutes late = rebook except when doing urgent care sessions
Less than 10 minutes late, then it is wait till the end of the session - which could be 3.5 hours
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Anonymous | Pharmacist04 Dec 2014 6:32pm
Whilst I can see what is being said in the case of repeat offenders etc is fair, what about when a patient turns up on time (or even early) but is not seen until well after their allotted time? It may be for a good reason but, from the patients view, their reason for them being late and missing their appointment may also be reasonable (at least, to them). Some clear ground rules for all patients (when they first join a practice) makes sense but it does need a more flexible approach. These things are not always black and white - and having to rebook may mean the patient has to wait several more days to be seen
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Anonymous | GP Partner04 Dec 2014 8:12pm
If I am late for a dentist appointment I will not be seen that day and furthermore I will be charged £20. I understand this is pretty standard in dentistry. So why are we worried?
In my opinion, if you turn up late for a routine appointment, you are asked to book a further routine appointment. Serial offenders are removed from the list.
I also note serial offenders are almost exclusively irritants anyway and I am happy to offload them. I have never had a complaint regarding this behaviour.
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment