title: Waiting lists. Patients' virtue.
abstract: A trust which was failing to meet the national standards on outpatient performance in 2000 met the targets in 2001 by reviewing waiting lists and setting up a call centre to manage outpatient appointments. Non-attendance has been reduced from 16 per cent to 5 per cent. Staff were recruited from outside the trust for the call centre. Patients are given a choice of outpatient appointments over a four-week period. If they refuse they are discharged back to their GP. The appointment centre employs 13 staff and processes 62,000 outpatient appointments.
authors.affiliation: University Hospital Aintree, Liverpool.
authors.forename: Elaine
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Scarborough
mesh_terms: D001071:Appointments and Schedules; D017598:Efficiency, Organizational; D006779:Hospitals, Public / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration*; D013222:State Medicine; D006113:United Kingdom; D014850:Waiting Lists