Ladywell Medical Centre East has a high demand for doctor and nurse appointments. It is vital that we educate our patients about the need to cancel appointments if they are no longer required, thus allowing other patients to make use of them.

What does DNA mean?
DNA means Did Not Attend. It is when a patient fails to attend their appointment without a valid reason. This appointment could have been utilised by another patient who is in urgent need of care.

How do I cancel my appointment?
Just let us know. Ideally, we would like at least 24 hours’ notice, but we know this is not always possible. Please try to let us know at least 1 hour ahead of your scheduled appointment time. Letting us know as soon as possible allows us the possibility of rebooking another patient into that time slot.
To cancel an appointment, please call the Practice on 0131 334 5000. Alternatively, you can cancel appointments via our website: www.ladywelleast.co.uk as long as you provide more than 24 hours’ notice. On our website under the “Appointments” drop-down menu you will find a link to “Cancel Appointment”

What will happen if I forget to cancel, or miss an appointment?
The practice admin staff monitor and record DNA appointments. Should the practice feel your level of DNAs is unacceptable this will be referred to your Registered GP and either they or the Practice Manager will contact you to discuss this further.
An unacceptable level of DNAs, without valid reason, may result in you being removed from the practice list. If you are removed from the practice list for this reason, you will be sent a letter confirming this. Once a removal has been actioned, you have 30 days to find a new GP practice. If you fail to register at another practice you will be automatically removed from the practice list by the Health Board.

Appointment Reminders via SMS

We would like to encourage you to consent to receiving text messages from the practice. Your consent for this service will allow us to send you appointment reminders via text. If you wish to consent to texting, please contact the practice on 0131 334 5000. Please note, it is the patient’s responsibility to keep the practice informed of any change in your contact details.

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

I failed to attend my pre-booked face to face appointment, but the clinician actually telephoned me later that day. Why is this a 'DNA?'
We have different appointment types available such as face to face (F2F) and telephone appointments. Failure to attend, reschedule or cancel a pre-booked F2F appointment means another patient that needed a F2F appointment was delayed in being seen, so it would be a 'DNA'. If the clinician notes that you have failed to attend the pre-arranged F2F appointment but still feels your issue needs to be discussed that day, they will try to telephone you. Often the issue will still require a F2F examination, effectively, duplicating the number of appointments required.

I failed to answer my pre-booked telephone consultation with a clinician. Why is this a “DNA?”
Failure to answer, reschedule or cancel a pre-booked telephone consultation means another patient that needed a telephone consultation was delayed in booking this. This appointment would therefore be a “DNA”.

I did not bring my child to the appointment, why is this a 'DNA'?
A child that fails to attend appointment is recorded as 'Was not brought in'. A child cannot attend an appointment alone, so we record the DNA as a 'Was not brought in'. The same DNA policy above applies to you and your child.