DNA (Did not attend) policy

A DNA (Did Not Attend) occurs when an appointment is not attended and the Patient has not contacted the Practice in advance to cancel it, or, where the cancellation is so late as to make it impossible to allocate that time to another Patient who needs treatment.

The Practice will code this ‘DNA’, and this will prompt a retrospective check on the number of DNAs recorded against that person. Whilst we are primarily concerned with our own appointment observance, consideration may also be given to any hospital appointments where we have been notified that a Patient has failed to attend. A re-referral on the part of the GP (more GP time) will often be required by the hospital department so that the Patient can be recalled.