Whether we visit your own setting, including your home, or you are visiting us for the first time – it’s important to us that you have the right information to make your appointment as stress-free as possible.
Preparing for your appointment
Once you’ve been referred to one of our services, you’ll receive a telephone call or letter via post or email with all the details of your first appointment, including date, time, location and where you need to go when you arrive. It’s important to check you are able to come to your appointment and let us know if you can’t. If you don’t let us know, you may not be offered another appointment.
If you are being visited in your own setting, including a home visit, you will be notified either directly by a clinician via the telephone, and the appointment date and time may then be confirmed via a follow-up letter or email to you. Please ensure you are available and can be contacted on the day of your appointment.
We understand that at times you may need to change or move your appointment to a more suitable time. Firstly check your appointment letter or email for details of how to change or cancel your appointment. If unsure, contact your local Single Point of Access (SPA) team. Please remember to include the name of the service you are visiting or NHS number (which can be found on your appointment letter), your full name and your date of birth in your email or message.
Depending on the service you are due to attend, this information may be different so please check your original appointment letter for details on changing or cancelling your appointment.
Central London Community Health NHS Trust is changing how we communicate with patients about their appointments. Patients can now see their appointment information by email or text message.
The system is intended to be quicker and more convenient for patients while reducing missed appointments and administrative costs.
Patients receive a text (and/or email) which they click on to take them to a secure DrDoctor portal. Patients will be able to see their appointment details, cancel or change appointments, and add further contact details. These should be checked regularly and kept up to date.
Patients will still receive the usual paper copy of the appointment letter; although they may be able to view these online soon too.
DrDoctor is secure and meets NHS data standards. It is a legitimate text or email from the Trust.
The intention is to roll it out across all CLCH services.
For more details on viewing your appointments online, see the how-to guide below.
How-to guide
How do I view my digital appointment?
- You will receive a text message notifying you that you have a new appointment. If we have your email, you will also receive an email.
- Follow the link in the text message to the secure DrDoctor patient portal and log in with your name, date of birth and postcode.
- To check if it is really you, we will send a unique one-time code to your mobile phone number.
- View information about your new appointment online. Further information about the clinical location or things to bring may be included.
How do I opt out?
You can opt out of notifications by replying STOP to any appointment notification sent to you, or by logging into the patient portal and changing your preferences.
More information can be found in the Frequently Asked Questions.
We advise giving yourself plenty of time to get to one of our clinical sites and to locate your clinic in advance of your visit.
Useful links:
You will need to bring the following to your appointment with us:
- Your appointment letter
- Any medication that you are currently taking (or a list of it)
You may also need:
- Money to pay for prescriptions, or an exemption card if you are entitled to free prescriptions.
Do you need an interpreter?
If you require a foreign language interpreter please let the receptionist know when you arrive for your first clinic appointment and they will organise access to a telephone interpreting line during your consultation.
If you require a sign language interpreter, our services are usually advised by your referrer as to what arrangements we need to be put in place for you to access our services. If no arrangements have been made, please also advise the receptionist or your healthcare professional. They will advise us when they refer you to our services and we will organise an interpreter for you. See more about the Accessible Information Standard (AIS) and what this means for you here.
Disabled access
Many of our buildings have disabled access and disabled accessible toilet facilities. Our Single Point of Access (SPA) teams will generally book patient transport for service users with disabilities and if a wheelchair is required, this will be arranged for you. However, please be advised that wheelchairs are not provided on our sites.
Learning disabled patients
We advise all patients with learning disabilities to bring a carer or friend with them to their appointment.
Accessible information
We can provide information, such as leaflets and advice in a different format, for example Braille or large text. Visit our accessible information page for more information on this or contact the service directly to request this on your behalf in advance of your appointment.
All medical consultations, examinations and investigations are potentially distressing. Patients can find examinations, investigations or photography involving the breasts, genitalia or rectum particularly intrusive. These examinations are called 'intimate examinations'. Cultural factors should be considered. This is important when examinations are performed by members of the opposite sex. Also, any consultations where patients may feel vulnerable.
For most patients and procedures, respect, explanation, consent and privacy are all they need. They take precedence over the need for a chaperone. A chaperone does not remove the need for adequate explanation and courtesy. Neither can it provide full assurance that the procedure or examination is conducted appropriately.
It is important that children and young people are provided with chaperones. The GMC guidance states that a relative or friend of the patient is not an impartial observer. They would not usually be a suitable chaperone. There may be circumstances when a young person does not wish to have a chaperone. The reasons for this should be clear and recorded.
If you have had vomiting or diarrhoea in the last three days we would ask you to reschedule your appointment. This is to make sure you are not infectious to other patients.
Your appointment letter should tell you where to go for your appointment, but if you are unsure ask a member of staff to help.
When you arrive at one of our clinics, please speak to one of our receptionists who will check you in. Alternatively, and if available at the site you are visiting, you can use one of our self-check in kiosks at the entrance to let us know you’ve arrived. A member of staff will be available if you need any help.
Once you have checked in using either one of our self-check in kiosks or at reception, you will be directed to the area you need to wait in and then you will be called forward by a nurse or a doctor for your appointment.
Please be on time for your appointment. If you are early you will not be seen more quickly, but if you are late other patients who arrived on time may be seen before you.
Depending on your appointment and the type of visit you have arranged with us, waiting times can vary. We will make every effort to make sure you are seen on time, but sometimes our services do get very busy and delays are unavoidable. The patient before you may take longer than expected, or the doctor may be away on an emergency. Our staff will keep you regularly informed of any delays.
You may notice that a patient who has arrived after you is seen before you. This patient will likely be seeing a different healthcare professional to you.
Waiting times at our walk-in or urgent care centres vary day-to-day and the time of day. Our centres aim to see and treat all patients within four hours of arrival and patients are seen in order of clinical priority.
Demand for services occasionally exceeds capacity after 4pm weekdays. At these times, all patients will receive an initial assessment and if unable to offer a full consultation will be redirected to other appropriate healthcare providers. For more information, visit our walk-in and urgent care centre pages.
During your appointment, you may see your consultant or another doctor or nurse working in the same team. All of our staff will be wearing their name badges and will introduce themselves to you.
If you feel particularly strongly about seeing a female or male clinician, please let a member of staff know when you arrive.
We want to make sure that you fully understand your condition and the different treatment options available. Before you receive any treatment, your healthcare professional will explain what he or she is recommending, including the benefits, risks and any alternatives. Please ask questions if you are unsure about anything.
You may be asked to sign a consent form for your treatment. You are able to refuse treatment at any time, including after you have signed a consent form.
We want to make sure that all our patients get the best care possible. A person’s risk of harm from many diseases is linked to personal characteristics such as age, gender and also ethnicity.
In line with the Trust’s clinical strategy, we are looking at how we can identify and predict clinical need in the populations we care for. Knowing our patient’s ethnic group will support us to do this, by allowing us to tailor care with the aim of reducing the inequalities gap.
Upon accessing care or treatment from CLCH, you may be asked a question by one of our healthcare professionals about you (or your child’s) ethnicity, so that we can review the best treatment that our patients can receive and make sure that every one of every background gets the highest quality of care.
We'll keep this information confidential and will update it in your medical record. The only people who see this information will be members of your (or your child’s) care team and others who are authorized to see your medical record. Your answers will be confidential. You can read more about the information we collect and what it is used for in our Privacy Statement.
Smoking or using e-cigarettes is not allowed inside any of our buildings. Designated smoking areas will be signposted accordingly.
Everyone working for the NHS has a legal duty to maintain patient confidentiality. Information about you and your care is kept strictly confidential.
After your appointment
At the end of your appointment and depending what service you attended, we will discuss next steps with you. You may need to come in for another appointment or be sent for tests. In some cases, we will be able to establish a treatment plan for you on the day.
We will write to your GP to let them know what happened at your appointment, including your test results and any treatment plan we have put in place for you.
We encourage you to ask questions at your appointment.
You and your healthcare professional will work together to make decisions about your care, so before you leave your appointment, make sure you understand:
- What your diagnosis is/what might be wrong
- Which treatment is best for you
- Whether you need any further tests
- Whether you need to book a follow up appointment at reception
- What happens next
If your clinician gives you a prescription you’ll be asked to collect this from the a pharmacy or your GP. Please note, as with all NHS prescriptions, you will have to pay a charge unless you are exempt. If you don’t normally pay for your prescriptions, you will need to bring proof of your exemption with you, such as an income support book. NHS Choices offers more information about paying for prescriptions.
If the healthcare professional you see asks you to book a follow up appointment, please ask to do this at the reception desk before you leave.