Missed appointments
When appointments keep getting missed
A missed appointment is rarely just an inconvenience. It costs a referral, delays a diagnosis, and quietly erodes everyone's confidence in how the week is being managed.
Short answer
Most missed appointments come from a broken capture step, not a broken memory — the letter arrives, gets put down, and never reaches a calendar. Fix the capture first, then add a prompt the day before and the morning of.
Give every letter one destination
Appointments arrive by post, text and phone call, and each one needs to end up in the same place. A single large wall calendar in the kitchen, and a rule that the letter goes on the pinboard beside it, removes most of the failures.
Write it where the day is checked
A calendar in the hall is useless if the morning happens in the kitchen. Put it where the kettle is. If a day-and-date clock is already in use, the calendar should sit next to it so the date and the plan are read together.
Prompt twice, not five times
One reminder the evening before, so transport can be arranged, and one on the morning itself, two hours ahead. More than that becomes noise and gets ignored, which is worse than no prompt at all.
Solve the getting-there problem separately
- Many missed appointments are transport failures dressed up as memory failures.
- Ask the surgery about non-emergency patient transport eligibility.
- Many areas have volunteer driver schemes through Age UK or the Royal Voluntary Service.
- If a hospital appointment needs an escort, say so when booking — some trusts will offer a longer slot.
If it keeps happening
Tell the GP practice. Repeated missed appointments are a recognised flag, and practices can add an alert, switch to telephone consultations, or arrange a longer review. It is also reasonable to ask for a memory assessment if the pattern is new.