Reschedule or cancel your appointments using My RFL Care
Some outpatient appointments can be managed using the My RFL Care patient portal. This is an additional way to make changes to your appointments. If you need to cancel or change your appointment you can continue to call our booking centre or service, or use our website form to make a change.
If you make changes to your appointment using My RFL Care, it will automatically update our hospital system and you will receive a text confirming your change has been successful.
If your appointment was booked using NHS e-Referral Service and you wish to make a change, you can do so by calling The Appointments Line (TAL) on 034 5608 8888 open: Monday-Friday 8am to 8pm; weekends and bank holidays 8am to 4pm (closed Christmas Day) or online via www.nhs.uk/referrals. Patients should not call the Royal Free to book, rebook or cancel their NHS e-Referral Service appointment
How will I know if I can make changes to my appointment using My RFL Care?
Under the ‘Appointments’ section of the portal, your upcoming appointments will be displayed in date order. Select the appointment you would like to manage.
The options available to manage this appointment will be displayed. If the options to change or cancel your appointment appear greyed out, this appointment cannot be managed via My RFL Care.
How do I reschedule an appointment using My RFL Care?
If the options to reschedule an appointment are available in the patient portal, watch this short video for the steps to change the date or time of your appointment.
Please note that you will receive an SMS text message confirming your changes have been successful. The text message will display the new date and time of the appointment and the appointment details will update in the Appointments section of the portal. You will not receive a new appointment letter, refer to your original appointment letter for information such as location and contact details for the service, or department responsible for your care.
How do I cancel my appointment?
Once you have logged in to My RFL Care you can do this by selecting the appropriate appointment in the Appointments list and select the appointment you wish to cancel and select Manage. You will need to read the guidance and confirm that you want to cancel your appointment as well as select a reason for cancellation.
To accompany the appointment cancellation, you will also be sent an SMS text message advising you that you have a new letter from us. By selecting the link in the SMS text message, you can view the letter confirming the cancellation of the appointment.
Why am I only able to cancel or reschedule some appointments in the portal but not all?
There are several reasons why you may not be given an option to change your appointment using the patient portal. This may include:
- Not having any alternative appointment slots available.
- Your appointment may have been previously rescheduled by the hospital or by you a few times.
- Your appointment cannot be changed online because it may be time sensitive, or requested changes will need to reviewed and assessed. This may need to be discussed before changes can be made.
- Your appointment may have been booked via the NHS eReferral Service (eRS)
If you are unable to reschedule online, then you can contact the department directly using the phone number on your letter.
If you were referred through the NHS e-Referral Service please ring the NHS Appointments Line on 0345 608 8888 or visit http://www.nhs.uk/referrals to rebook or cancel the appointment.
More information on managing your hospital appointments can be found here.
I cancelled my appointment by accident – what should I do?
If you cancelled your appointment by accident, please call the outpatients appointment centre on 020 7443 9757. You can call Monday to Friday, 8am-5pm to reschedule your appointment. Alternatively, you can use our 'contact us' form.
Do I need to contact the hospital to make you aware of any changes I made via My RFL Care?
You do not need to contact the hospital regarding any changes you made on My RFL Care. Your hospital record will be updated automatically.
How do I know the changes I have made have worked/you're aware of them?
Each time you make a change to your appointment on My RFL Care, you will receive an SMS text message confirming the action you have taken. You will also be shown an updated screen on the portal.
If the action to change or cancel has not completed for a technical reason, you will be advised that your request is pending, sometimes there may be a few minutes delay in receiving a confirmation text message.
Is there a limit to the number of changes I can make?
There are only a limited number of changes that can be made to the time/date of an appointment in the portal. If you need to make further changes to the same appointment, you will need to contact the outpatient appointment centre, or the service your appointment was booked for. The details should be available at the top of your appointment letter.
Who do I contact if I have a question about my appointment?
If you have a question about your appointment, please contact the outpatient appointment centre on 020 7443 9757 during opening times (Monday to Friday, 8am-5pm). More information on who you can contact regarding appointments can be found here.