Appointment Text Message Reminder Service

Every year, thousands of patients accidently miss their hospital appointment simply because they forget when it is. 

We appreciate how busy people are and how easy it can be to forget an appointment or mislay an appointment card; however, patients not attending their appointments can not only affect them getting the care they need, it also has a negative impact on the service the Trust provides.

Each missed appointment costs the hospital money in terms of the time the medical staff waste, but more importantly, it means that the slot cannot be offered to another patient.

It has been shown that sending appointment reminders significantly reduces the number of missed appointments; therefore, where appropriate the Trust will send a text message reminder to patients reminding them of their outpatient appointments. These messages will be sent 14 days before the appointment, and again at 4 days before the appointment.

It is a FREE service, you will not be charged for receiving appointment reminders via text. However, you may be charged your normal network rate for any replies you send to the Trust, so please ensure you check with your network provider.

Frequently asked questions:

What is in the text message?
This is a short message sent to your mobile phone detailing the date, time and location of your appointment. It may also provide details of how to cancel or rebook your appointment.

Can I cancel or rebook using the text message?

Day 4 & 14 reminder: If you receive a text message reminder from us 4 & 14 days before your appointment, you may be able to cancel or inform us that you need to rebook by replying to the text message. If you reply ‘REBOOK’ a member of our team will be in touch to arrange this with you. If you reply ‘CANCEL’ then your appointment will be cancelled. Please note, if you reply 'CANCEL' you will need to contact the hospital directly to let us know if you are cancelling your appointment indefinitely or if you are needing to cancel for another reason.

Who will receive the messages?
Patients of Kettering General Hospital will receive a text message if they have an appointment booked with us. Two reminders will be sent: one fourteen days before the appointment and one four days before.

If you have given your mobile number to any NHS Healthcare provider, we will accept this as implied consent that you agree for the Trust to use this number to contact you regarding your hospital appointments.

Patients do have the option of opting out of the text reminder service, either by notifying a member of the clinic reception team or replying ‘STOP’ upon receipt of a text reminder. Please note, by opting out you will not receive reminders for any hospital appointments.

Patients can still choose to receive these messages in a voice format if a landline telephone number is provided.

How do I opt out of the text reminder service?
To opt out, please reply to the message with the word ‘STOP’ or contact the clinic directly. We can then remove your phone number from our text reminder system. You will be charged your standard network rate for responding to the message. Please note that we are only able to remove your current mobile number from our system. If you change your mobile number, you will need to opt out of the message system again.

Please note that opting out of the text reminder service will not opt you out of all text messaging services run by KGH or those other healthcare providers, such as GPs. If you have concerns regarding the text communication you are receiving from KGH, please contact our PALS team: Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) | Kettering General Hospital NHS (kgh.nhs.uk)

How can I opt into the system if I have previously opted out?
Please speak to a member of your clinic and request to be opted back into the text message appointment reminder service.

Will I receive a text message for appointments my children have?

From December 2022 we will be using text message appointment reminders in some of our paediatric services. This means parents or guardians will be able to confirm attendance but if appointments need to be rescheduled or cancelled, they will need to contact the service.

Services included at the current time are: Acute Child Health, Children's Diabetes, Children's Epilepsy, Paediatric Cardiology, Paediatric Clinical Haematology, Paediatric Endocrinology, Paediatric Gastroenterology, Paediatric Nephrology, Paediatric Respiratory Medicine, Paediatric Rheumatology and Paediatric Urology.

Texts will be sent to the number listed under mobile on the child’s medical record. Please note only one number can be used so we cannot send texts to multiple parents or guardians. If required, our team can change the number listed on the medical record for you.

I have an appointment coming up but I have not received a text message?
You will receive two text messages before your appointment date. You will receive a text message fourteen days before your appointment and four days before your appointment. If you haven’t received a message, it may be that the hospital does not have a correct mobile number for you. Please check with the clinic receptionist when you visit. If you are unsure of the number, you have on file please contact the booking coordinator.

Please note that whilst most of our clinics offer this service, there are some clinics that may not be providing it at the current time, which is why you don’t receive a message.

Who do I contact if I’ve received a text in error?
If you are a patient in the department that the message has been sent from then please contact the department directly using the telephone number on your appointment letter. Alternatively, if you are not a patient in that department or of the hospital, please phone the department that sent the text and ask for the booking coordinator.

Why won't my text message send?

If the text will not send, please make sure your network service provider (Vodafone, 3, EE etc) allows the use of ‘short code’ texts. This is different for all devices so please check online for how you can do this. As well as this some premium numbers some texts are barred by default. The text message will not cost extra to send and will use standard allowance rates.

How can I change my response if I reply with the wrong option?
If an incorrect response has been sent, please call your clinic directly so we can change this. Please do this as soon as possible.

How can I update my phone number or other details?
If you are a patient in the department that the message has been sent from then please contact the department directly using the telephone number on your appointment letter.

Can the text message be sent to two different mobile numbers?
At the moment, we can only send messages to one nominated phone number.

Can I add the appointment into my calendar from the text message?
This is not possible at the current time.

Can someone else receive my reminders for me?
If you have your own contact details on our file, we will send the message directly to you. If you would like to update the contact information, we have on file please inform the receptionist at your next appointment.

I am the parent or carer of a vulnerable child or adult – will I get a message?
If you are a guardian or carer and we have your contact details on the patient’s electronic file, we will send the message to you. If the adult has their own contact details, we will send the message directly to them. If you would like to update the contact information for the person you care for, please inform the receptionist at your next appointment.

I have some further questions about this service. Who can I speak to?
If you are a patient in the department that the message has been sent from then please contact the department directly using the telephone number on your appointment letter. Alternatively, if you are not a patient in that department or of the hospital, please phone 01536 492000 to have your number removed.

What happens if the text is not delivered to my phone?
The text will only not be delivered if your phone is out of signal for over 12 hours or the mobile number on record is incorrect. If you are out of signal or the phone is turned off, the message will attempt delivery for 12 hours before failing.

Will I still receive a text reminder if I am abroad at the time of it being sent?
Yes, as long as the signal is valid the message will be delivered.

Are the text messages sent directly from KGH?
Yes, our in-house team manage the Text Reminder Services.

Other text messages you may receive from us

Missed Appointment Survey

A missed appointment costs the NHS approximately £160 and extends our waiting lists. Missing an appointment may also delay your treatment, so in order to help the Hospital better understand why Patients may miss their appointment, you may receive a text message from us shortly after your missed appointment asking you to complete a short survey with a few questions to help us better understand why. To check any messages are genuine, the message from ourselves should read as:

Dear Patient. This is an important message from Kettering General Hospital about a recently missed appointment in [SPECIALTY]. We would like to ensure our services meet the needs of our patients and would appreciate your time in completing a questionnaire about how we can do this. Please use the link below with PIN [RC] and your date of birth. Please feel free to read more about this message on our website [WebsiteLink]. Thank you [PortalLink]

Please note this survey is completely voluntary, anonymous, and for information gathering purposes only. If you have any questions about the survey or require assistance completing it, please contact your clinic. 

Patient Validation Survey

We appreciate that the NHS currently has some long waiting times across a variety of services. Occasionally a Patient may get to the front of the queue and no longer need their allocated appointment. To help the hospital keep the waiting lists up to date, we may contact you if you are on a waiting list every 3 months via a text message asking if you still require your appointment. If you select that you no longer need it, you will be discharged from KGH back to your GP.

You may receive a text message which includes a link to provide further details. The form will ask for a PIN number which will be provided in the text message, the patient’s date of birth and if an outpatient appointment is still needed. 

We have included further details below so you can check any messages to ensure they are genuine. 

W ho will the text message come from?   

The text message will come from a trusted partner, Healthcare Communications. Healthcare Communications send the texts on behalf of the hospital.  

What will the text message say?   

Every text contains a PIN number which is unique to that patient and a link to a portal. The text will include one of these three messages depending on your specialty:Image missed appointment text example

  • Dear Patient. This is an important text from Kettering General Hospital NHS Trust where you are waiting for treatment in [specialty department named]. We are now reviewing our waiting lists and need some more information from you. Can you please help us by logging in to the link below with [PIN included in the text] and your date of birth: this can be from your smartphone, tablet, laptop or PC. Thank you for your help.  [Link to the Portal]
  • Dear Patient. This is an important text from Kettering General Hospital regarding your care with [specialty department named]. We are reviewing our waiting lists and need some more information from you. Can you please help us by logging in to the link below with PIN [included in the text] and your date of birth: this can be from your smartphone, tablet, laptop or PC. Thank you for your help. [Link to the Portal]
  • Dear Patient, we are sorry that we have not yet been able to see you as planned for your appointment with [specialty department named]. We appreciate your patience with us at this time as we work through our backlogs. We appreciate circumstances may have changed and we are keen to hear from our patients as we aim to allocate appointments. Please help us by logging in to the link below with PIN [included in the text] and your date of birth: this can be from your smartphone, tablet, laptop or PC. Thank you [Link to the Portal]

Who will receive a text message? 

Adult patients in all specialities who are waiting for an outpatient appointment at Kettering General Hospital may receive a text message. 

Who do I contact if I’ve received a text in error? 

If you are a patient in the department that the message has been sent from then please contact the department directly using the telephone number on your appointment letter. Alternatively, if you are not a patient in that department or of the hospital, please contact our PALS team.   https://www.kgh.nhs.uk/patient-advice-and-liaison-service-pals/