[Your Practice Letterhead]
[Date]
To: [Hospital Provider/Department Name]
Dear [Recipient],
Re: Patient Discharge Following Missed Appointment
We have been informed that [Patient’s Name] has been discharged from your service following a missed appointment. You have requested that we issue a new referral for the patient to be seen.
While we understand the challenges in managing appointment attendance, it is not appropriate for GP practices to bear the administrative burden of re-referring patients in such instances. General practice is already under unprecedented workload pressures, and additional tasks of this nature detract from our ability to provide core contracted services.
We respectfully request that your department considers an alternative approach that does not require a new GP referral, such as directly offering the patient a rescheduled appointment or alternative means of access to your service.
The text of this letter has been provided by Surrey and Sussex Local Medical Committees to ensure consistency of purpose. It reflects the principles of the recently authored interface document in use across Sussex and similar documents under development in other areas covered by the LMCs.
We trust you will review this process to facilitate smoother patient care pathways and avoid unnecessary delays. Should you require further discussion on this matter, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Yours sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Position]
[Your Practice]
Template Letter: Response to Patient Discharge After Missed Appointment (34kB docx)