What a DNA is

A DNA appointment is when a patient does not turn up for appointments, and does not contact the surgery to cancel or change the appointment.

This creates a significant strain on the NHS.

We understand that there are situations that can make it impossible for you to cancel your appointment, for example being admitted to hospital.

Our DNA policy

We aim to provide all our patients with the best possible service and to achieve this we need your help.  Patients who fail to attend for their appointments and do not let us know incur significant cost to the practice and to other patients in terms of lost appointments.

If you are unable to keep your appointment, please make every effort to cancel it well in advance so that it may be offered to someone else.  This can be done over the phone, or online.

Haverhill Family Practice will monitor those patients who do not attend their appointments. When a patient regularly fails to attend appointments within a 12 month period, the patient will be written to explaining that should they fail to attend a further appointment without prior notification, they risk being removed from the Practice list.