Posted by Depending on the NHS Trust that you work for, some may use a paper form for the outcomes of the clinic and some may have an electronic version.
Clinic outcomes include:
- When the patient needs to be seen again
- The next steps for the patient
- Whether they have DNA’d
- Their RTT Status code
It is important that you complete all the outcomes at the end of the clinic so that it is completed there and then. At the maximum it must be cashed up within 48 hours of the clinic ending. This ensures that the income can be claimed for the appointment and the next steps for the patient are known. This allows everyone to know what is happening with the patient.
The document attached shows you how the RTT Status codes work and follow each other.
Booking a Future Appointment
You need to know what the Trust policy is on booking a follow up appointment for the patient. Some Trust’s only book 6 weeks ahead and therefore if the appointment is to be made for 3 months time, then this patient should be added to the outpatient waiting list (OWL) for that consultant with the 3 month time frame marked.
Some Trust’s allow you to book this appointment straight away. If so, then you need to agree the appointment with the patient while they are there.
If there is no capacity available, ie there are no appointments within the time frame, you need to go and speak to the clinician or add the patient to the waiting list as per your Trust policy. You should always try and book an appointment within 2 weeks either side of the requested time frame before escalating or adding to the waiting list eg if the appointment request is within 8 weeks, you need to look between 6 – 10 weeks to see if there are any slots.
Sending for Diagnostic tests/Adding to the waiting list
If the patient is going to be sent for a diagnostics or added to the waiting list for surgery, then the patient is unlikely to have another appointment made but the outcome to be selected is either sent for diagnostics or added to the waiting list. This ensures that when checking the clinic outcome form, the outcome on PAS/EPR matches. If this is after the first outpatient appointment then the RTT Clock should be continuing and should be an RTT status code of 20. If the clinician has selected a RTT status code in the 30’s then this is incorrect and you should escalate it for someone to check.
PIFU
This is Patient Initiated Follow UP and this is normally used for long term conditions and is where the patient is given a specific time frame in which they can contact if they need a follow up appointment, rather than make an unnecessary follow up appointment.
Cancer Surveillance
In some Trust’s there are long follow up waiting lists. It is important that these patients are seen at the clinically appropriate time. Some Trust’s have a separate waiting list for these patients to ensure they are prioritised. If this is a Trust you work in, then these patients should be added to that specific waiting list.
Discharging the patient
If the clinician is discharging the patient, then you must discharge the whole outpatient registration so that the patient’s record is correct. If this is their first outpatient appointment, then there must be a RTT clock stop on their pathway. This is most likely to be an RTT status code 34. but may be a RTT status code 30.
