Patient-initiated follow-up: appointments when you need them
On our patient-initiated follow-up pathway you can decide when you need to see your doctor again.
It means you can arrange your follow-up when you need it most. For some, this can mean fewer trips to the hospital.
You may hear us refer to patient-initiated follow-up as PIFU.
Not everyone is offered patient-initiated follow-up, so you may still have regular appointments for other conditions or illnesses.
Your follow-up
When you’re offered patient-initiated follow-up, your doctor will tell you about:
- any signs or symptoms to look out for
- where to get ongoing advice
- when and how to call us
- how long you will be on our patient-initiated follow-up pathway
- what happens afterwards.
After speaking to your doctor, you may choose to keep your routine appointments: it’s entirely up to you.
When to book a follow-up appointment
You can book your next appointment if you:
- have new symptoms, or if your symptoms get worse
- feel your medicine is no longer working for you
- think our advice is no longer helping you to manage your illness.
How to get another appointment
Call the number on your letter or leaflet and tell the team:
- you’re on the patient-initiated follow-up list
- you would like to be seen again.
We’ll arrange your follow-up appointment as soon as possible. Your appointment will be in person or online or by phone.
Remember, our appointment team cannot give medical advice.
What happens if you don’t book a follow-up
If we don’t hear from you after the amount of time you’ve agreed with your doctor, we will either:
- discharge you to your GP or
- book a follow up appointment.
Your doctor will discuss which of these options is most suitable with you before you decide if you want to use patient-initiated follow-up.
If you’re discharged from our care, you’ll need to speak to your GP if you need to see us again.