Top Tips

These are some recommendations for booking and attending appointments.

Before booking your appointment:

• Write down your two or three most important questions.
• List or bring all your medicines and pills.
• Write down details of your symptoms, including when they started and what, if anything, makes them feel better or worse.
• Ask the receptionist for an interpreter beforehand if you need one.

During your appointment:

• Don’t be afraid to ask if you don’t understand.
• If you don’t understand anything ask for it to be written down and explained.
• Write things down, or ask a friend or family member to attend and support.

Before you leave your appointment:

• Check that you’ve covered everything.
• Check that you understand all the advice you have been given.
• Check that you know what needs to happen next.
• Ask who you can contact if you need further advice.
• Ask about support groups and where to go for reliable information.
• Ask for any copies of letters written about you that you may need copies of for your own records.

After your appointment:

• Keep a note of what you have discussed and what happens next.
• Book any recommended tests and make a note of the dates.
• Ask who to contact if you are not sent appointment details following a referral.
• Follow up any test results; these should be available approximately one week after the test.