An empty chair at ten o'clock
Your occupational health adviser has a telephone assessment booked at ten. She rings, it goes to voicemail. She rings again at five past. Nothing. She writes a DNA note, the slot is gone, and the administrator now has to tell the employer, rebook, and work out whether this one is chargeable under the contract.
Some employers see a steady stream of these. The employee was told about the appointment by a manager they do not get on with, the letter went to an old address, or the employee is off sick with anxiety and the idea of a phone call from 'occupational health' is exactly what they are avoiding.
Why employees do not attend
The appointment is something that happens to the employee, arranged by their employer, often during a difficult period. Missed appointments are rarely about forgetfulness alone.
- The invitation is passed on by the manager, late or not at all.
- Contact details on the referral are out of date, or it lists a work email the employee cannot access while off sick.
- The employee does not understand what occupational health is, or thinks it is a disciplinary step.
- There is no easy way to rearrange, so not answering feels simpler than calling to move it.
- Telephone appointments come from a withheld or unknown number, which people ignore.
What each missed slot costs
Clinician time is the scarce resource in your service, and a missed slot is time that cannot be sold again at short notice. Then there is the admin that follows: notifying the employer, rebooking, deciding on the DNA charge, and handling the dispute when the employer says the employee never knew.
| After a DNA | Manual process | What we build |
|---|---|---|
| Notify employer | Email typed by admin | Sent automatically under your contract rules |
| Charge decision | Checked against the contract by hand | Rule per employer, flagged for review |
| Rebook | Admin rings the employee | Rebooking link sent to the employee |
| Evidence of invitation | Searched for in sent items | Invitation and reminder log on the case |
| Refill the slot | Rarely possible | Offered to waiting cases where time allows |
How we reduce DNAs and handle the rest
- Invitations go directly to the employee, by text and personal email as well as through the manager, using contact details the referral form requires.
- The invitation explains in plain language what the appointment is, who will call, and that it is confidential in the way your service describes.
- Reminders go out ahead of the appointment and again on the day, including the number that will ring for telephone assessments.
- A rebooking link lets the employee move the appointment within the limits you set, so a clash becomes a rearrangement instead of a DNA.
- When an employee cancels, the freed slot is offered to other cases waiting for an appointment.
- When a DNA is recorded, the system notifies the employer in the wording you approve, applies the charge rule for that contract, and offers a rebooking.
- A DNA report per employer shows patterns, so account managers can talk to HR about how invitations are handled.
Whether to charge, how many times to rebook, and what to say to the employer are your decisions and your contract's. We build them in so they are applied the same way every time.
A diary that holds its shape
Fewer appointments are lost without notice, because employees can move them rather than avoid them. When a DNA does happen, the admin that follows takes a minute, and the employer receives a clear, evidenced notification. Disputes about whether the employee was invited are settled by the log.
Over time the DNA report tells you which employers need a conversation about how referrals are introduced to employees, which is often where the real fix lies.
Do these sound familiar?
- Clinicians regularly ring employees who do not answer.
- DNA notifications to employers are typed by hand.
- Employers dispute DNA charges because they say the employee was not told.
- Employees cannot rearrange appointments without phoning your office.
- Freed slots are rarely refilled.