Treatment Time Guarantee

Your waiting time clock starts when: 

• results of all required diagnostic tests are known; and 
• you have agreed your treatment with your doctor. 

We will try to give you a minimum of seven days’ notice of your appointment. This is considered a ‘reasonable’ offer. 

If you refuse two or more reasonable offers of appointment, we may: 

• refer you back to your General Practitioner (GP); or 
• reset your waiting time clock to zero – this could result in you waiting a further 12 weeks for treatment. 

Any decision will be communicated to you in writing.

To help us arrange your treatment as quickly as possible, please: 

• notify us if you change your name, address or telephone number to ensure we can contact you to confirm your date of appointment; 
• let us know about any dates when you won’t be able to go into hospital (for example because you are going on holiday) we will then explain to you the impact this has on your waiting time; 
• let us know as soon as possible if you are unable to keep an appointment so we can offer it to someone else - at the time of cancelling your appointment we will explain the impact this has on your waiting time; and 
• get in touch immediately if you feel you have been waiting too long. 
   

We will write to you to confirm your appointment time and date and provide any other necessary information. We will also write to explain how your treatment time will be affected, if you: 

• refuse two or more offers of an appointment; 
• do not attend an appointment; 
• cancel an agreed appointment after previously accepting it; 
• let us know about any period of unavailability e.g. if you are going on holiday. 

Our letters to you will always include a contact number that you can use to get in touch with us.

While we aim to make sure that all of our patients are seen within the 12-week legal guarantee, there may be occasions where this is not possible. Therefore, if we exceed your treatment time guarantee, we will: 

• offer you the next available appointment taking your availability and other relevant factors into account; 
• provide you with an explanation of why we did not treat you within 12 weeks; 
• provide you with details of the advice and support available; and 
• provide you with information on how to give feedback, raise concerns or complain. 

More information, including the Charter of Patient Rights and Responsibilities, the Your Health and Your Rights factsheets, and other leaflets are available from: 

• GP surgeries; 
• www.nhsinform.co.uk; 
• NHS Inform Helpline on 0800 22 44 88 (lines open daily from 8am to 10pm); and 
• Patient Advice and Support Service (PASS) at your local Citizens Advice Bureau.