What causes people to miss healthcare appointments and what we can do about it in Dorset?

Thanks to funding from NHS Charities Together via Dorset County Hospital Charity in association with Dorset Community Foundation, Public Health Dorset (PHD) worked with Community Action Network on a project to collect community insights into: 

  • The barriers and drivers that prevent people from attending healthcare appointments (recorded as ‘Did Not Attend’ or DNAs in NHS systems) 
  • What people think can be done to address those barriers.  

This is important because access to healthcare is a key driver of health inequalities and the unfair, avoidable differences in health that exist between different groups of people. Missed healthcare appointments contribute to this and working to reduce them can form part of our approach to tackling health inequalities in Dorset. You can read CAN’s summary report of all the project findings here.

Why did we do this project?

Regularly missing NHS appointments can lead to poorer health outcomes, as individuals may not receive the necessary support at critical times. It’s essential for patients to attend their scheduled appointments to ensure they get the care and advice they need to maintain or improve their health.  

However, we know that the reasons people miss appointments can be complex and, for some people, attending their appointment is more challenging than it is for others:  

  • Perhaps transport is difficult for them 
  • They have caring responsibilities  
  • Maybe their mental health makes it difficult for them to get to their appointment.  

This project set out to build a better understanding of who in Dorset is more likely to miss their healthcare appointments, the barriers and challenges they face that cause them to do so and what they think can be done to address those barriers.

Who did we work with?

  • Home-Start Wessex – Offers friendship, practical support and emotional advice to families living in Dorset who are having difficulties for a variety of different reasons such as poor mental health, postnatal depression, disability, domestic abuse, bereavement, isolation, financial hardship and multiple births. Click here to request the report.
  • Poole Communities Trust – A small , local charity with a mission to inspire change and help address disadvantage. They focus on bringing people together, increasing community participation and improving skills and confidence, offer greater opportunities for children, young people and families, and to reduce the impact of poverty through food support , advice services and access to publicly funded services. Click here to request the report.
  • CoCreate – A community interest company based in Dorset, and working in South West England. Led by three arts and health professionals, their wealth of combined experience, and varied backgrounds come together to create new projects which are about making great art and improving wellbeing. Click here to request the report.
  • Christchurch Community Partnership – A small charity with a big vision, to end social isolation for all adults in Christchurch, Dorset. Providing a unique combination of integrated services that can be tailored to an individual’s needs. These include two transport services, Dial a Bus and Neighbour Cars, and three community connection services, Christchurch Angels, Helpful Neighbours and Coffee Connections. Click here to request the report.
  • Nigerian Community in Dorset – A registered not-for-profit group based in Bournemouth, Dorset. NCD exists to support members of the public who are Nigerian by birth, ancestry and descent, marriage, naturalisation or adoption in and around Dorset. Catering for people of all ages, enabling them to reach their full potential as individuals contributing to health and socio-economic well-being on the Dorset area. Click here to request the report.