As part of a national initiative commissioned by NHS England (NHSE), we are undertaking a review of all patients on our waiting list for outpatient appointments and procedures/surgical treatments.

This involves contacting these patients and asking for some further information. This is about whether you would like to remain on the waiting list or no longer wish to go ahead with your appointment or treatment. The NHSE review is in response to the Coronavirus pandemic which caused the need to create more capacity to care for Covid-19 patients at trusts like ours across the country. This led to the postponement of some non-emergency care and meant that our waiting lists grew as a result.

Whilst we are sorry that you may have been waiting for some time and understand how distressing this can be, it is important that you provide this information as you may be discharged to your GP and removed from our waiting list if you do not.

We are contacting patients, and this is being done via the following methods:

• SMS text message (this will display from WHHNHS and have a link and pin code for you to update your information)
•  Letter

The type of contact you receive will depend on your individual circumstances, such as whether we hold a correct mobile phone number for you.

Our clinical teams have reviewed our waiting lists to ensure that patients with the greatest need are treated first. We now need to confirm the information that we hold by contacting patients to understand if there are any changes in their circumstances and if they wish to remain on our waiting list for their outpatient appointment or procedure/surgical treatment.

By reviewing our waiting list and gathering this information, we can ensure that we understand the requirements of our patients whilst also prioritising care for our most clinically urgent patients.

If you are contacted by us, please provide the requested information within 7-days of receiving the request.

Please note that if you are on more than one waiting list you may receive a communication (letter or SMS text) from us more than once. It is important that you check which waiting list the communication is referring to and respond to each one separately.