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Before your appointment

If you have an outpatient appointment booked at one of our hospitals, you will receive a letter from us. University Hospitals Southampton (UHS) is moving to digital communications using an online portal called patient hub. Not all services use this so you may still receive some letters in the post now.

For appointments that are booked at short notice teams will contact you by phone whenever they can.

Moving to digital appointment letters saves the Trust approximately £1 per letter meaning a saving of thousands of pounds every month which could go towards patient care. Please help us do this by opening the digital link sent from NHSNoReply and reading the letter. This will stop a paper copy being printed and posted. If you are My medical record user and have seen your appointment in this app you will still need to open the patient hub link to stop a printed letter being sent.

Please let us know if you wish to opt out of digital communication by contacting the team.

Your letter will tell you the information below:

  • If you are being seen face to face at the hospital or will be called by telephone or video call.
  • Hospital site you are coming to.
  • Date of the appointment.
  • Time of the appointment.
  • The name of the clinic and where it is in the hospital.

If you are coming to the hospital for your face-to-face appointment, please check which hospital site you are going to.

Please read information on parking, directions, and facilities for the hospital site you are going to if needed.

For accurate directions to car parks and entrances, you can find our What3words addresses here.

You can also find detailed maps, access guides and routes on the AccessAble website. When you arrive at the UHS page scroll down to the bottom to select the hospital site you need.

UHS no longer book patient transport. If you require patient transport, please contact South Central Ambulance Service. Please contact the hospital if you are on transport and require a stretcher so that the department you are going to can make sure they have space for you.

If you need transport, please contact the hospital if you have been given an appointment later in the day and we will try to bring this forward.

Please check the details on your appointment letter carefully and contact us if you are unable to attend. You will be able to view your appointment letter and other correspondence on the My medical record app

My Medical Record

My Medical record is a free and secure online platform where you can access your appointments, letters and results.

This can help you to work with the team looking after you and to manage your care together, giving you information, and reducing your need to come into hospital. This is not essential but if you would like to find out more, or want to sign up, you can do this on the My medical record page.

Reminders

If you have provided us with a mobile number, we will text you 14 days before your appointment to remind you about the appointment. We will also text you again with a further reminder 4 days before your appointment.

If you receive either of these reminders and realise there are exceptional circumstances which mean you are no longer able to attend the appointment, please contact the relevant service as soon as possible using the contact details on your original appointment letter.

Every missed appointment costs the NHS £140.

Letting us know as soon as you can if you're unable to come to your appointment means we may be able to offer the appointment to someone else and avoid wasted slots and longer waiting times.

Failing to attend appointments without letting us know in advance will affect how long you will wait to be treated. If you fail to attend or cancel your appointment for a second time without a very good reason, your doctor may decide to discharge you back to your GPs care if they do not feel there is a need for you to be seen here. You would then need to be referred again by your GP.

Translation and interpretation services

If your first language is not English, interpreters are available.

Information for patients or carers with enhanced care needs

You can find out what extra support is available for you or someone you care for, which may help with getting ready and coming to an appointment. There is also information for the children’s hospital about additional support for children.

We want to offer patients, and carers for patients, with enhanced care needs the best possible experience and would like to hear your views to help us to do this. Find out more about the patients with enhanced care survey and complete the survey to let us know what you think

Chaperones

You can request a chaperone to accompany you to any procedures, tests or examinations. If you'd like to request a chaperone, please ask your doctor or midwife. You can also request a chaperone in advance when booking your appointment or at pre-assessment.