Outpatient appointments

If you have received a message from us about your new referral- welcome to the trust.

The information below is to help you while you wait for your first appointment.

About your referral

If you have been referred to Frimley Health by your GP or a consultant from another hospital, you should have received a message from us to acknowledge this. Your referral will be reviewed by the clinical team and we will be in touch with you when an appointment is available. 

Waiting for your first outpatient appointment

There is no need to contact us before your appointment unless you have an issue you would like to discuss with us. Please note that the admin team will not be able to discuss medical issues. If you need help with a medical issue before your first appointment, please speak to your GP.

How long will I be waiting for my first appointment?

Waiting times vary between different specialities. The average waiting time to a first appointment for different specialities are below. If you aren't sure which specialty you have been referred to, please check the latest message from us. 

Average waiting times in weeks

During your referral

We have a policy about how we manage referrals for planned care. 

This details how we will communicate and manage your referral, and also sets out some things we need from you while you are waiting for appointments. We will maintain contact throughout your care, and we need you to keep in touch too. 

Patients should be seen and treated based on their clinical need and the trust is committed to offering fair access to services, aligned to national waiting time standards.

How we will communicate with you

The Trust communicates on a digital first basis which provides patients with instant communication and less risk of communication being lost or delayed in the post.

When we will contact you

• When you are referred to the trust.
• When an outpatient or diagnostic appointment is booked or cancelled.
• When a date for surgery is planned.
• To remind you of an appointment: 2 weeks, 1 week, and 1 day before the appointment. 
  Please confirm that you are attending using the link in the message if you receive one. Please let us know if you need to cancel your appointment.
• Every 11 weeks to maintain contact and confirm that you continue to require treatment.
• Occasionally when we need you to contact us to discuss something.
• Messages from your care team, which may include:
  • A phone or video appointment
  • A call from a nurse
• Feedback surveys.

Telling us your communication preferences

Digital communication is not suitable for all patients and we are able to send you letters in the post.

Please contact us to let us know how you need us to get in touch with you. You can also do this through MyFrimleyHealth Record. 

We will use these means unless you tell us you need communication by letter:

• MyFrimleyHealth record - our patient access website and app.
• Text message
• Phone
• Email

MyFrimleyHealth Record

We recommended that patients register for MyFrimleyHealth Record.  You can also register for proxy access for someone else. 

Our online platform allows you to:

• Access your Frimley Health medical records
• View details of appointments and book follow ups
• Attend online consultations
• View medications, test results, and letters
• Send secure messages to your care team

During your care under Frimley Health

Reasonable notice  

When contacting patients regarding an appointment, we will provide a minimum of 2 dates with 3 weeks notice.

Appointment dates can be offered with less than three weeks notice and you can choose to accept.

If we are offering an appointment with less than 2 weeks notice we will call you rather than send a letter.

Maintaining contact

Patients have a responsibility to remain in contact with the trust in relation to their care.

If we make a number of attempts to contact you without success you may be discharged back to your GP. We will keep in contact with you throughout your care.

Ready and available

Patients need to be ready and available for treatment when the trust is able to proceed. Where a patient is unavailable for treatment due to long term absence or illness, they may be taken off the waiting list. 

If you miss your appointments

The trust has over 90,000 missed appointments each year where a patient doesn't attend their planned appointment.

As long as you let us know if you can't make your appointment, we can often make it available for another patient waiting to be seen. 

Each appointment costs the NHS approximately £150. Please allow us to reduce waiting times and save resources by attending your appointment or by telling us if you need to cancel with as much notice as possible. 

If you cancel your appointment multiple times

Frequent cancellation of appointments delays your care and could become a clinical risk. Please be ready and available for treatment.