Changing your outpatient appointment

Call us using the number on your appointment letter.

Or

Use the NHS App to manage your appointments, and follow the steps below:

Rescheduling an appointment

1. Go to the homepage or Your health.

2. Select Upcoming and past appointments.

3. Select Hospital and specialist appointments.

4. Select the appointment you want to reschedule.

5. Select Ask to reschedule appointment and provide further information

Cancelling an appointment

1. Go to the homepage or Your health.

2. Select Upcoming and past appointments.

3. Select Hospital and specialist appointments.

4. Select the appointment you want to cancel.

5. Select Ask to cancel appointment.

6. Select why you need to cancel.

7. Review your request and request cancellation.

Text message reminders

We send reminders by text message for a large number of outpatient appointments. These are sent:

• Three weeks before your appointment date, and
• Four days before your appointment date

If you get a message from 07860 039092, you can reply:

• “Change” to reschedule your appointment
• “Cancel” to cancel it

We now include your first name in the message to help you know who it’s for.

If you do not get text message reminders, please let us know when you visit.

Direct messaging

Direct messaging is a quick and easy way for our hospitals to send you a text message. We might use it to ask you a simple question or offer you an appointment at short notice. You can reply straight away, which makes things faster and easier for you.

It means you:

• Don’t need to wait on the phone.
• Can reply when it suits you.
• Might get an appointment sooner. You can find out more about our messaging service on our website here.

There are things we can do to help support you to come to an appointment, including:

• Transport
• More information about your appointment
• Appointment times outside of a normal working day
• Language translation or communication

Just speak to a member of staff who would be happy to help.

You can also bring somebody with you to your appointment if it would be helpful for you.

You may be able to get help with Patient Transport Services (PTS) if:

• You have a medical condition that makes travel difficult.
• You need support during your journey.
• You’re a carer or parent of a child attending hospital.

You can contact Yorkshire Ambulance Service on 0300 330 2000 to see if you are eligible. You may also be able to claim travel costs using the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme - HTCS if you’re on certain benefits or have a low income.

If you need a carer or companion to support you, please let us know in advance. Some travel schemes also allow companion passes for those who need help travelling.

Some of our outpatient appointments are done over the phone. This means a doctor or health practitioner will call you for your appointment instead of seeing you in person at the hospital.

To help make sure you don’t miss your telephone call:

• Keep your phone with you 30 minutes before and two hours after your appointment time
• Try to be somewhere quiet and private

Please note that we may call from a private or unknown number. If we can’t reach you after two attempts, you may be discharged from our service. We’ll let you and your GP know if this happens.

Fast track appointments are used to check for serious illnesses such as suspected cancers. Attending these appointments is important to make sure you get the care you need as soon as possible. It is also important to let us know if you can’t make it for a fast track appointment so we can offer your slot to another patient.

You can now get your hospital letters on your phone using the NHS App. To do this, we need your correct mobile number.

Please check that your GP has your up-to-date mobile number. This helps us send your letters to the right place.

Your GP shares your number with the hospital system, so it’s important it’s right. You can also update your own details via the NHS App, the NHS website has step by step instructions on how to do this. For more information on how to view your appointment letters in the NHS App, take a look at our handy guide.

Watch a film which explains how moving to digital outpatient letters is helping us allocate appointments more quickly.

Huddersfield – fortnightly drop in sessions are on Wednesdays, 1-3pm, at Brian Jackson House. There is no need to book. You can find dates on the Carers Count website.

Calderdale - sessions are held every third Wednesday of the month. These are between 10.00 to 14.00 by appointment at Rimani House, 14-16 Hall Street, Halifax, HX1 5BD. To book a slot you can call 01422 369101.

You will need to register as an unpaid carer with Carers Count to go to a session. To find out more, call 01422 369101, or email calderdale@carerscount.org.uk