Did Not Attend Appointment

A DNA occurs when an appointment is not attended and the Patient has not contacted the Practice in advance to cancel it or where the cancellation is so late as to make it impossible to allocate that time to another Patient who needs treatment.

The Practice will code this DNA and this will prompt a retrospective check on the number of DNAs recorded against that person.  Whilst we are primarily concerned with our own appointment observance, consideration may also be given to any hospital appointments where we have been notified that a Patient has failed to attend.  A re-referral on the part of the GP (more GP time) will often be required by the hospital department so that the Patient can be recalled.

DNA 1

Where this is the first occasion, a code will be added to the Patient’s medical record and the DNA counted in a monthly search.

DNA 2

Where this is the second occasion, the Patient will be contacted by the Practice, advised of the missed appointment and a splash screen will be added to their record. When the Patient makes a further appointment, they will be advised by the Receptionist that the Practice is aware of their previous DNA and asked to confirm their intention to attend their next appointment.  The Patient will also be informed that if a further appointment is DNA’d, they could be at risk of compromising their relationship with the Practice.

DNA 3

Where a third DNA has occurred, the Practice will review the individual case and a decision will be taken with regard to addressing the Patient’s future ability to pre‑book routine appointments.  The Practice will consider whether consistent failure to adhere to our Practice policy constitutes a breakdown between the Patient and the GP (where the GP Practice has given clear instruction on policy and service provision and the Patient has chosen to disregard this on several occasions in spite of due warning).

HOW TO AVOID BECOMING A DNA

If you cannot attend or no longer need an appointment, please ring us at least two hours before your appointment so the appointment can be offered to another patient.

Mistakes do happen and the Practice understands that appointments can be forgotten about or overlooked.  In such cases, the Practice will take into account the reason given by Patients.

Preference, of course, is for the Practice to know in advance so we can offer the appointment(s) to other Patients in need.