Launched last year, our major improvement programme to transform services for outpatients, is making good progress.

The programme is underpinned by 24 standards that define the level of service that patients can expect at each stage in their pathway – from making an appointment, their time in the clinic itself, through to discharge and follow-up with their GP.

These standards were developed by listening to what our GPs and patients have said was needed to deliver a more responsive service, consistently across the Trust. The standards were then summarised in a series of commitments to patients, the first of which have been publicised in posters in our outpatient clinics:

Our commitments to patients

1.	We will always greet you and introduce ourselves.
2.	We will give you the information you need about your condition - and we will involve you in all decisions about your care.
3.	We welcome your feedback - please speak to a member of the clinic team if you have any comments or suggestions for how we can improve our service.
4.	We will continually work to improve our clinic facilities.
5.	We will help you with any queries about your appointment on our dedicated helpline, tel: 020 7377 7074 (9am-5pm, Monday to Friday).

Highlights of the programme to date

The programme has already delivered any tangible improvements, with more expected in the coming months. They include:

Improved facilities

Refurbishment to the entrances, reception and transport areas of the Outpatients building at The Royal London is now complete, giving patients a more modern and pleasant environment in which to attend their appointments.

A number of outpatient (and inpatient) services have moved to the state-of-the-art facilities in the new building at The Royal London, where patients will benefit from an exceptional environment for the delivery of their care.

Text reminder service

More and more patients are receiving text reminders to help them remember their appointments. If the appointment is no longer needed or is not convenient, patients can respond to the text and a member of our Central Appointments Office will call them back.

Since text reminders were introduced for outpatient services in August 2010, there have been 6,563 fewer missed appointments from August 2010 to July 2011 compared to August 2009 to July 2010.

Please help us by making sure we have up-to-date mobile numbers for patients on their referral.

Improved communication options for GPs and other referrers

To improve access for GPs and other referrers to clinical advice from our medical teams, all our services now offer advice and guidance via either Choose and Book or generic nhs.net addresses, with a commitment to respond to all queries within five days. The list of the nhs.net addresses can be found on the How to contact us page. Referrers needing emergency admissions and urgent clinical advice should still contact our on-call medical and surgical doctors through the Barts and The London GP hotline on 020 7377 7461.

Speedier referral and discharge arrangements

Most teams now review outpatient referrals electronically, speeding up the time it takes for first appointments to be booked.  In addition, we are introducing voice recognition (VR) software for the dictation of outpatient letters.  After appointments, GPs and patients are normally sent letters summarising the appointment and the next steps in the patient’s care.  The VR software helps to ensure a faster turnaround for sending out these letters and that no letters are missed.

How did we do?

To supplement the feedback mechanisms already in place in our hospitals, including real-time touchscreen monitors and our Tell us what you think leaflet, we have introduced comments cards in outpatient areas. Patients are invited to answer 10 quick questions about their appointment, including whether they have been seen on time, what kind of welcome they received, and whether they would recommend our care to their family and friends.  In December 2011, 96% said that they would recommend our care.  

Click here to see the full range of ways patients can feed back their comments and suggestions.