Information for patients waiting for an appointment at UHDB
Are you or your loved one on our waiting list for an upcoming appointment after being referred by your GP or another clinician in the community? This information will:
- Tell you how we will stay in touch with you after you have been referred
- How you can keep us up to date if anything changes with your circumstances, health or if you no longer need your appointment.
It is important to stay in contact while on our waiting list, as it helps you stay involved in your own care and means we can respond to any changes in your circumstances and health as needed, to prioritise patients who need the most urgent care.
While you are waiting for your appointment, we will contact you approximately every 11 weeks by text, phone, or letter to check if you still require our care.
Please respond to tell us if you would still like your appointment or if you no longer need to be seen because your symptoms have recovered or have been treated elsewhere. This means we can release your appointment to another patient who is waiting.
If we do not receive a response after several attempts, we may review your referral and consider discharging you back to your GP’s care to ensure our waiting lists remain accurate.
If you think you still need to be on the waiting list, please contact the number on the letter you receive in the post to discuss your place on the waiting list. This is the fastest way to get a response. Alternatively, you can call our main switchboard and asked to be put through to outpatient department you were referred in to.
You can help us by:
- Checking your phone number and postal address details are up to date with your GP - we use these details to contact you.
- Respond to our text message to tell us if you still need your appointment. Click on the link in the message to access a Patient Hub portal showing your appointment details and options to keep or cancel your place on our waiting list.
We will also contact you by post, but as this can take longer to reach you, we encourage you to reply using the Patient Hub portal if you can.
How to confirm your appointment with us after receiving a text message
1. You will need access to a smartphone or a device with internet connection.
2. You will be sent a text message from us with a link to follow.
3. The text message will read:
You have a new notification concerning an outstanding referral that you are on a waiting list for, please click this secure link https://www.uhdb.nhs.uk/patient-hub to get started.
If asked to provide a User Verification Code when logging in, enter [AAA].
Regards,
University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust
4. Click on the link, you may get re-directed to a page which says 'suspected spam' - please disregard this message and proceed to the next step.
5. Enter your mobile number and add your date of birth when prompted.
6. You will be sent a 6-digit code by text to authenticate your access to enter on the secure login page.
7. You will be taken to the dashboard, click on the 'Referrals' tab to see your referral information.
8. Follow the steps on the screen to confirm that you want to either
- Stay on the waiting list
- Be removed from the waiting list because your symptoms have recovered or you have been treated elsewhere