Why patients fail to attend for ENT operations: a one-year prospective audit

A substantial proportion of patients summoned for routine ENT operations simply fail to turn up on the day of admission. Lacking any notice, the hospital has little prospect of finding replacements, with a consequent waste of resources. A one-year prospective study has tried to identify the potential defaulters and sought their own reasons for non-attendance. All patients (n = 181) failing to respond to invitations for admission for surgery were investigated by means of a questionnaire. Non-attenders were matched with those attenders that were listed next on the admission list. The incidence of non-attenders was significantly higher in the group aged 16 years or below. Non-attenders were more likely to be male, on a longer waiting list (P less than 0.05) and listed for nasal septal operations. One in five who failed to attend had changed their address while on the waiting list. The duration of notification appeared not to influence the rate of non-attendance.