New national investigation looks at outpatient appointments after hospital stays

We’ve started a new national investigation looking into a safety risk involving outpatient follow-up appointments which are intended but not booked after an inpatient hospital stay.

If a patient does not receive their intended follow-up appointment, it could lead to patient harm owing to delayed or absent clinical care and treatment.

The investigation was launched after HSIB identified an event where a patient was discharged from hospital on two separate occasions with a plan to follow-up in outpatient clinics. Neither of the outpatient appointments were made.

This investigation will:

• Identify factors which compromise the booking of outpatient follow-up appointments after an inpatient stay.
• Consider opportunities for building resilience into the booking process for follow-up appointments.

Follow investigation progress

Please contact enquiries@hsib.org.uk to register for email updates on this investigation.

You can also follow progress on the outpatient appointments intended but not booked after inpatient stays investigation page.