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At the hospital

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Arriving at clinic and checking in

Please report to the clinic shown on your appointment letter. If your appointment is in the main outpatient department, clinics are clearly signposted as you enter. If you are unsure, our information desk or volunteers can help.

If you need a wheelchair, please ask at the information desk and a member of staff will assist you.

Not all clinics are held in the main outpatient department. Some take place in other areas of the hospital, such as the pain clinic (outpatients E), diabetic centre (outpatients F), Macmillan Unit (outpatients G) and the breast department. Please check your appointment letter carefully and use the information board near main reception if needed.

It's really important that you bring your appointment letter with you.

Self check-in

Most outpatient clinics now use self check-in kiosks.

Using the kiosk

  • Choose your preferred language
  • Enter your date of birth
  • Enter your postcode
  • Confirm your personal details when asked
  • Your appointment details will then appear on the screen
  • The kiosk will tell you where to wait

Some areas also use calling screens. A chime will sound before your name appears. When you see your name, please go to the clinic room shown.

Clinic reception desk

If there is no self check-in kiosk, please take your appointment letter or card to the reception desk so the team can book you in. You will be asked to confirm your personal details. It is important we hold the correct address, postcode and GP information for you.

You will then be asked to take a seat in the waiting area until the clinician is ready to see you.

Waiting times

Please do not arrive more than 10 minutes before your appointment time, unless specified in your appointment letter. We always do our best to keep waiting times as short as possible, and aim to see most of our patients within half an hour of their appointment time. However, sometimes there are unavoidable delays and you may be kept waiting for any of the following reasons:

  • The doctor may need to spend extra time with some patients
  • Emergency cases may have to be seen
  • Doctors may be delayed or called away
  • Some patients arrive late

In order for us to offer the best service we can, please help by informing the hospital as soon as possible if you are not able to attend your appointment. We may be able to give your appointment to someone else.

During your consultation

It's important you get the most out of your clinic appointment.

Request clarification: Ask for more information or explanations if there is something you don’t understand.

Communicate priorities: Inform your healthcare professional about your priorities and what you wish to discuss.

Accessibility needs: Let them know if you need information in a different format, such as large print, or additional help to understand medical terms.

Take notes: Write down key points from your discussion to help remember important details.

People with additional needs: Someone you trust, family and carers can participate in your care decisions with you.

Prescriptions

If the clinic doctor thinks you need tablets or treatment, they will normally write to your GP and ask them to prescribe the treatment for you.

It should be possible for you to obtain the necessary treatment at the next convenient surgery and during working hours.

If the treatment needs to be started quickly, the hospital will normally prescribe it for you, but will usually only give enough for a few days' supply.

When you are given a hospital prescription, you must take it to the Pharmacy department.

Admission to hospital

The doctor might decide that you should be admitted to hospital. They may not be able to give you a definite date for admission but should be able to give you an approximate idea of when it might be.

Your name will be put on the consultant's waiting list and you may be asked if you could come in at short notice, should a bed become available. If your condition changes while you are on the waiting list you should see your GP. They may wish to arrange for you to be seen again at the hospital.

If, for any reason, you no longer need or want your treatment, please inform the hospital so that your name can be removed from the waiting list.

X-rays and pregnancy

You may be asked to have an X-ray. If you are pregnant, or think you may be pregnant, you must tell the doctor or nurse.

Remember, X-rays can harm unborn children.

If your child needs an X-ray and you are pregnant, please bring somebody else to go with your child into the X-ray room.

Staff training

You may occasionally see medical students in clinic as part of their training. They are supervised at all times. If you would rather not have a student present during your consultation, please let the receptionist know — we will respect your choice.

Recording your appointment

We understand that some patients may wish to record the audio and/or video of their appointment on their mobile phone, or other recording device, to help them remember what is said during the appointment, or as a form of note taking.

Please speak to your treating clinician if you would like to record your appointment, at the start of your appointment, and discuss this with them.

Any recordings made must be for a patient’s private use only.

As an NHS organisation, we must prevent inappropriate recording in areas where other people might object to being recorded, where it interferes with the delivery of patient care, or impacts on the confidentiality of others e.g. in waiting rooms and other public areas.

Thank you for your cooperation.