Preparing for your appointment

Before your appointment, you will receive a letter, telephone call or text message that includes everything you need to know about your appointment. We will tell you if there are specific things you need to do before your appointment or bring to your appointment.

You may be offered a face-to-face, telephone or video appointment. You will receive the same quality of care no matter what type of appointment you have. Please note that some procedures or treatment appointments will need to be face-to-face. We aim to take your preferences into account where possible.

Before your appointment

You can sign up to MY CARE, our online service and app that lets you see your appointments, test results, and other information all in one place.

Many patients find it helps to prepare what they want to talk about in their appointment. It can be helpful to write a list of the things you want to discuss. This could include:

• A list of your symptoms
• Medicines you are currently taking, including any medicines you have brought yourself and alternative treatments
• Any allergies you have
• Any questions or concerns you would like to discuss
• Anything your GP has recommended you ask the healthcare professional

You can ask someone to come with you to your appointment, such as a carer, family or friend.

Please bring glasses, hearing aids, walking aids etc. if you require them.

Do not bring any items of value as we cannot guarantee they will be safe.

We will arrange language translation if needed – please let us know in advance if this is required. When contacting the booking team please have your letter or information to hand as this will help the admin team locate your appointment quicker.

Think about how you will get to your appointment in advance. Check out the information on our site pages for details on any car parking available and public transport options.

You may be eligible for help getting to your hospital appointment or reimbursement of travel costs, or there may be volunteer community transport schemes that can help you. Find out more on our transport and travel costs page. Any bookings need to be made in advance, so make sure you plan ahead.

If you cannot attend your appointment at the time you have been given, please contact us at the earliest opportunity to rearrange it. We can then offer this appointment to someone else in need, this helps to reduce our waiting times. 

During your appointment

We will:

• Provide you will a clear explanation of your condition
• Describe the potential benefits and risks of treatment and discuss alternatives
• Ask for your fully informed consent to any operation, procedure or treatment
• Treat you with respect and dignity
• Welcome your comments and deal with your concerns
• Tell you if your appointment will take a long time – particularly if you have to have further tests during your visit.

We ask that you:

• Treat our staff with respect
• Discuss any questions or concerns with your clinician

Improving care for the future

We might ask you to consider taking part in a clinical trial or research study.  These are important for developing treatments in the future. If you decline, this will not affect the care you receive. Please speak with your clinician if you have any questions or concerns.

After your appointment

After your appointment you will receive a letter with a summary of your consultation. The clinician will describe what they discussed with you on the day and explain the next steps. If you do not understand the letter, please contact the team using the contact details included in the letter.