The number of people turning up for appointments with Allied Health Professions - dietetics, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, podiatry, speech and language therapy - has improved.
The number of missed appointments - known as DNAs or Did Not Attends – in West Lothian fell from 8.3 per cent in 2005/06 to 6.7 per cent in 2006/07.
However the number of people failing to attend is still too high.
Bob Anderson, chair of West Lothian Community Health and Care Partnership, explains: “It is good news that more patients are turning up for appointments. However it still means that nearly 9,500 people did not turn up for an appointment last year. Or 36 people every day. Put simply failing to turn up deprives someone else who is waiting for an appointment.”
Sally Westwick, Therapies Services Manager for the CHCP, said: “People who fail to turn up for an appointment could be harming themselves by missing out on much needed treatment, but they are also preventing someone else from receiving vital professional help. We would urge people to give as much notice as possible if they need to cancel an appointment, this will give us an opportunity to fill the space.”
More information on the Community Health and Care Partnership, and health and social care services such as, OT, GP practices, dentists, dieticians, podiatry, services for adults with disabilities, mental health, services for older people, healthy eating and much more are now available online www.westlothianchcp.org.uk
Ends
Issued by: Elaine Henderson, PR development manager
Date: 25 April 2007
Fri, 27 Apr 2007 00:55:38
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