A TRIAL of ringing patients to remind them of appointments has proved so successful in cutting down the number of wasted bookings it is to be rolled out across all the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trusts' services.

During the week long trial in oral surgery, which involved telephoning patients two days before their appointment date to check whether they were planning to attend, a number of patients said they would not be coming for their appointment. This gave the booking team time to contact other patients and bring them in at short notice, making sure vacated slots could be used.

Stella Ellis, patient access manager, said: "Our trial showed we reduced the number of missed appointments from 14 per cent to 3.5 per cent, a figure which would allow us to see almost 50 more patients each month, in this speciality alone."

In a further development to improve the way appointments are managed, dates will shortly be offered directly to patients by telephone. Initially this will be available for patients requiring appointments in surgical specialties.

Ms Ellis said: "Instead of writing to patients and offering them a set date, making arrangements by telephone allows our patients to make a choice of appointment that suits them and their lifestyle. They may want to come at a particular time of day or to chose a clinic or hospital that may not be the closest to them but is more convenient for other reasons."

She added: "Being offered a choice of appointment in this way has taken some of our patients a little by surprise to start with but they've been really pleased by the flexibility it offers. It also gives patients the opportunity to ask any questions they may have.

"From the hospital point of view we don't have to worry about letters getting lost or sent to incorrect addresses. In certain specialities we are also ringing patients a couple of days beforehand to make sure they are still attending. Both projects are proving very successful and if we can reduce the number of appointments wasted, it will help in reducing waiting times for all."