PATIENTS are being urged to pass on any healthcare appointments they are unable to make.

Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust has launched a campaign asking for help in making sure people receive the care they need as quickly as possible.

Ian Currie, the trust’s medical director, said: “We have a lot of people waiting for appointments and we want to see people as quickly as we can so that we can make sure people get the care they need.

“We know there are many reasons why people can’t make their appointments with us and we will always do our best to be flexible to people’s personal circumstances. But it’s really important that people do whatever they can to attend their appointments when they are offered.

“Our teams are working really hard to offer as many appointments as we can and we want everyone who is waiting to be able to get the care that they need. We do understand, however, that sometimes it may not be possible to attend an appointment.

“When this happens, we want to encourage people to let us know, so that someone else can take their place. Please try to give us as much notice as you can, if you can’t attend.

“This matters because the more notice we have, the more likely it is that we can offer the appointment to someone else who needs our help, reducing the time that other people are waiting and reducing the amount of wasted appointments. We can all do our bit to help people be seen more quickly.”

James Neale, consultant gastroenterologist and clinical lead for endoscopy services, said: “We have recently brought a mobile endoscopy unit to Torbay Hospital to help us see more people and reduce the length of time people are waiting.

“Unfortunately, we’ve recently seen a rise in the number of people not attending appointments. For specialist services such as endoscopy, where people need to undertake prep, we need four or five days’ notice in order to be able to offer the appointment to someone else.

“We’re asking for everyone’s help to make sure that we make the best use of all available appointments, to get as many people the care they need as quickly as we can and reduce the time that people are waiting to be seen.The earlier we can see people the earlier we can provide reassurance or, if needed, support people to receive care or start treatment.”