What is an outpatient?

If you have an appointment in a hospital or clinic but don’t need to stay overnight, it means you're being treated as an outpatient or a day patient. You may be having an appointment for treatment, diagnosis or a procedure. Before your appointment, you'll receive a letter, email or text message from the hospital that includes everything you need to know about your appointment. You may be offered a face-to-face appointment in a hospital or clinic, or a telephone or video appointment.

The Outpatients Referral and Communication (ORC) team manage people’s outpatient bookings and questions.

You and your healthcare professional will agree on the type of appointment you're offered, based on your needs and preferences. You’ll get the same quality of care no matter what type of appointment you have.

You can choose which type of appointment you have, which hospital or clinic to use and which specialist team will be in charge of your treatment, as long as they meet your healthcare needs.

When not to come to hospital for your appointment 

​​​Please don't visit our hospitals if you are showing any symptoms of COVID-19. You can find out what to do if you are symptomatic on the NHS website at https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/self-isolation-and-treatment/when-to-self-isolate-and-what-to-do.​​​ ​​​​​ 

​​​Please don’t visit our hospitals if you are experiencing diarrhoea and vomiting.​​​​ Tell us if you are unwell and can’t attend by calling the number on your appointment letter

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Booking your first appointment

You are referred by your GP

Book online or through the National Appointments line, telephone 0345 608 8888 or text 0345 850 225

You can find more information on the NHS referrals website http://www.nhs.uk/referrals

Through the NHS e-Referral Service (e-RS)

You can book a first hospital or clinic appointment online if your GP has referred you to a specialist through the NHS e-Referral Service.

To book, you'll need your

  • booking reference number
  • password or access code

Your GP will give you this information. You can also book an appointment in the GP surgery at the time of your referral.

By calling our Call Centres

You can book an appointment by calling the number on your referral letter.

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Changing or cancelling your appointment

Booked by e-Referral service 

If you were referred through the NHS e-Referral Service, please ring the NHS Appointments Line on 0345 608 8888 or visit the NHS e-RS website https://www.nhs.uk/referrals to rebook or cancel the appointment.

Booked by hospital 

To cancel or rebook   an outpatient appointment that we have made for you, you can use the phone number on your letter to ring the right outpatients booking team.

We receive a lot of phone calls from patients and sometimes that causes a delay in answering your call. Please stay in the queue if possible and we will answer as soon as we can – we’re sorry for any delays this might cause.

Reminders

You should receive at least two SMS text messages from us (Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust) within 14 days of your appointment, reminding you of your appointment which offers you the option to cancel or rebook your appointment. You can only cancel an appointment once, any further patient cancellations are subject to a consultant review and may be discharged.

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Questions about your outpatient referrals or appointment

If you have any questions about your outpatient referral or appointment, please contact the number provided in your appointment letter.  You can contact the call centre if you have any questions about your outpatient appointment, including first appointments and follow-up appointments.

If the call centre team is unable to answer your question, they’ll connect you with someone in the relevant specialty who can help you. If you contact the call centre, please make sure you have your NHS number or hospital number ready. Your NHS number and your hospital number are both shown on your appointment letter, and you can also find your NHS number in the NHS app if you use it. 

We receive a lot of phone calls from patients and sometimes that causes a delay in answering your call. Please stay in the queue if possible and we will answer as soon as we can – we’re sorry for any delays this might cause.

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Video appointments

Many of our services offer video calls to patients as a way of having an appointment without having to travel to hospital. If you’ve been offered a video appointment, you and your healthcare professional will be able to see and hear each other using a secure online video service.

To find out more, visit  Video appointments.

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Telephone appointments

Can I have a telephone appointment if English is not my first language?

Yes. Visit this page https://www.mse.nhs.uk/patient-experience for detailed information.

If you want to read the information on our website in another language, click ‘Change language’ at the top of any page

To change the language of this website click on 'change language' at the top of any page

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Preparing for your appointment

What to bring with you

Please bring your appointment letter with you and a full list of your medication – please include both prescribed medication and any over-the-counter medicines you might be taking. This is so our team knows the strength and dosage of your medicines. We will let you know if you need to attend any further appointments or tests. We strongly advise that you don’t bring any items of financial or sentimental value into the hospital with you. We have very limited secure storage facilities and ​cannot be held liable for any property lost on our premises.

Can I bring someone with me?

Space can sometimes be restricted in certain waiting areas, and we would ask that you only bring those who need to support you at your appointment.

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Getting to our hospitals

How to park and pay  

Visit our parking information page for more details https://www.mse.nhs.uk/parking-at-our-hospitals. Please note that payment methods are different at different hospital sites, so check our parking page information before you arrive. Our car parks fill up quickly early in the morning and there may be a queue to get in so please make sure you allow enough time to arrive for your appointment on time.

Using public transport 

Information about how to get to our hospitals is available on the ‘Our Hospitals’ pages Taxi ranks are located outside most stations and taxis and private hire companies operate in all locations.

​Basildon University Hospital in Basildon, Essex (mse.nhs.uk) 
Nether Mayne, Basildon, Essex, SS16 5NL 

Nearest train station: Basildon​​​ 

​​Nearest bus stop: B2 runs from Basildon Bus Station to Hospital (South Bound Stop)​ 

Southend University Hospital in Southend, Essex 01702 435555 (mse.nhs.uk) 
Prittlewell Chase, Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, SS0 0RY  

​​Nearest train stations: Prittlewell (Greater Anglia service from Liverpool Street) or Westcliff station (C2C service from Fenchurch Street)​​ 

Southend Victoria or Southend Central rail stations – buses to the hospital leave from the nearby Southend Travel Centre or Victoria Station Interchange. Bus service 7 operates from Victoria Station Interchange to the Hospital.​  

Nearest bus stop: Southend Hospital south (Stops B, C and D). ​Bus routes 20, 25 and X30 also run to the hospital.​ 
 

Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford, Essex (mse.nhs.uk) 
Court Road, Broomfield, Chelmsford, Essex, CM1 7ET 

Nearest train station: Chelmsford​​​ 

Nearest bus stop: Hospital. Buses are available from Chelmsford Bus Station, which is very close to the train station. Bus services X10 and X30 Airlink operate from Chelmsford Bus Station to the hospital. Buses C1, C2 and 42A also run to the hospital.​​​ 

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​​​Braintree Community Hospital (BCH) Our other hospital locations and sites (mse.nhs.uk

Chadwick Drive, Braintree, CM7 2AL​​ 

​​​Nearest train station: Braintree​​ 

​​​Nearest bus stop: Braintree Community Hospital. Bus routes 70 and 71 run directly between Chelmsford and the hospital.​​ 

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​​​St Michael’s Our other hospital locations and sites (mse.nhs.uk)​​ 

​​Rayne Road, Braintree, CM7 2QU​​ 

​​​Nearest train station: Braintree​​ 

​​​Nearest bus stop: St Michael’s Hospital. Bus route 38 runs between Halstead and Witham, passing near the hospital. ​​ 

 

​​​St Peter’s Our other hospital locations and sites (mse.nhs.uk)​​ 

​​​Spital Road, Maldon, CM9 6EG​​ 

​​​Nearest train station: Hatfield Peverel (5.4 miles from the hospital)​​ 

​​​Nearest bus stop: Bus routes 31, 31B and 31C run between Chelsmford and Maldon stopping near the hospital. Bus routes 75/75A coming from Colchester also stop near the hospital ​​​.​ 

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​​​​Orsett Hospital Our other hospital locations and sites (mse.nhs.uk) 

Rowley Rd, Orsett, Grays RM16 3EU, UK 

Nearest train station: Grays/Stanford-le-Hope 
Nearest Bus Stop: Hospital, Orsett 

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What do I do when I get to the hospital?

​​What do I do once I have arrived at the hospital?​​​ 

​​​Your appointment letter will tell you which service you’ll be seeing and where you’ll need to go. Please make sure you arrive no more than 15 minutes before your appointment time​​ and no more than 15 minutes after your appointment time​​.​​  If you arrive more than 15 minutes after your appointment time you may not be seen.

​​What do I do when I get to the right department​ 

You need to check in. This is important as it tells the nursing staff you’ve arrived for your appointment. The receptionist will ask you to confirm your details. The data we record about you is to ensure we have accurate information about you and can give you the best possible care.  

After checking in, you’ll be directed to a waiting area where a nurse will call you for your appointment  

What do I ask the doctor? 

Refer https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/gps/what-to-ask-your-doctor/ for detailed advice. 

What happens if I'm late or don’t attend the appointment? 

​​If you miss your appointment time you may not be able to be seen on the same day. Your clinician will decide on the next step, which could include re-booking your appointment or discharging you back to your GP. If you do not attend (DNA) and haven’t told us you can’t attend, you may be discharged back to your GP. If you’ve already told us that you can’t make your appointment, we’ll arrange another time with you.​ ​​ 

​​If it is your first new appointment and a second cancellation then we will not re-arrange an appointment and you will have to get back in contact with us.​ 

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After your appointment

Medication changes 

If the doctor prescribes you a new or different medication, they will either write and tell your GP about the changes so that they can issue you a prescription, or give you a prescription to take straight to the hospital pharmacy when you leave your appointment. 

What happens if I need another appointment? 

During your outpatient appointment, your healthcare professional will tell you what happens next with your treatment. You may be discharged from hospital care or you might need a follow-up appointment.  

​​We might offer you a 'patient initiated follow up' appointment - PIFU for short - and you can read more details about that below.

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Patient Initiated Follow Up (PIFU)

This type of appointment allows you to arrange a follow-up for yourself if and when you need it, within a ​certain period of time. It is an alternative to a routine follow-up appointment, which you may not always find helpful unless you have a specific concern you wish to discuss with your healthcare professional.  

Instead of being given a date for a clinic appointment, you’ll be able to contact the service directly to arrange a follow-up appointment if you need it. Your healthcare professional will advise you on the symptoms you need to watch out for and provide you with a guide card to help you decide whether you need to make an appointment if your symptoms return or get worse.  
 
If you have any problems with your condition, or any complications after treatment, please use the information on the guide card to arrange a PIFU appointment.  

We’ll also tell you how long you will stay on the PIFU waiting list. This is determined by your clinical condition. If you don’t need to see the doctor or nurse about your condition within the specified period after your last appointment, you’ll be discharged back to your GP who will re-refer you if you need to be seen again in the future. 

When not to use PIFU

If you need urgent medical advice you should contact your GP or NHS 111, or if you are really unwell, your local emergency department (A&E).

For all other concerns not related to the condition that you are, or if you are feeling unwell, your GP remains your first point of contact.

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How to contact us

Please refer to your letter for the telephone number to contact to support your booking and queries.

Patients Know Best

Patients Know Best (PKB) is a new online patient system that consolidates patient data from various healthcare providers and makes it available in a single, secure personal health record. Once fully launched, this free portal will allow you to view parts of your personal health information digitally and share it with people who will need it to help care for you, aiming to enhance your overall patient experience. 

https://www.mse.nhs.uk/patients-know-best-pkb  

Interpretation and translation services 

If you speak little or no English and you would prefer things to be explained in a language you are more comfortable with, we can arrange for you to have a professional interpreter at your hospital appointment.  Refer https://www.mse.nhs.uk/patient-experience for detailed information. 

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Other information

Smoking 

Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust operates a no smoking policy across all its hospital sites. Smoking is not permitted in our buildings or in any of our grounds. This also applies to the use of e-cigarettes (e-cigs or vapes).  

Respecting your wishes 

We aim to respect the privacy, dignity, religion and cultural beliefs of every patient. Please let us know at the clinic if you have any specific needs. 

NHS England wait times 

The ‘My Planned Care’ section of the NHS UK website shows the waiting times of different outpatient locations in the UK by speciality. Visit the website https://www.myplannedcare.nhs.uk/east/mid-south-essex/ 

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Transferring your care - PIDMAS information

To help reduce elective waiting lists, from 31 October NHS trusts are contacting patients who have been waiting more than 40 weeks for treatment, and don't have an appointment date within the next eight weeks, to have a conversation about whether they could be seen more quickly at a different hospital.

This won't apply to everyone and some people might not be eligible because of their specific clinical needs. 

Please don't contact your GP practice or our hospital about this offer - if you are eligible then you'll receive a letter or a text message letting you know what to do next if you'd like to explore your options.