Our outpatient appointments take place at various departments at Kingston Hospital, at Teddington Memorial Hospital, at community clinics and we also run virtual appointments.

Coming to hospital for an outpatient appointment

All people attending an outpatient appointment can be accompanied by one other person.

You are also welcome to have a relative or friend join you in your virtual appointment, by phone or video.

If you need more than one person to accompany you due to a disability or impairment, you or your representative can let a receptionist or a senior nurse know. They may make a note of this on our systems so that your additional needs can be flagged and shared with other practitioners.

To keep you and our staff safe, make sure that you sanitise or wash your hands regularly when you arrive at the hospital and ado this gain at regular intervals.

Information for parents and carers

If the outpatient appointment is for a child, please do not bring their siblings to the hospital with you unless necessary, for example, if you are breastfeeding an infant.

If you are an adult attending an outpatient appointment, please do not bring your children with you, unless this is necessary.

Your appointment 

How to cancel or change the date of your appointment

Please contact your hospital department as soon as possible so that we can give your appointment slot to someone else and arrange a new slot if this is what you want. You will find the number of your hospital department on the top of your appointment letter. If you don’t want to rearrange your hospital appointment, you will be discharged.

Video appointments

If you have been offered a video appointment you will find information about how to prepare and connect on the day of your appointment.

If you don’t think a video appointment is appropriate for you, please contact your hospital department to discuss this. This might be because you have a special communication need because you are deaf or hard of hearing, or have a learning difficulty for example.

Getting to your appointment

There is information on parking and how to get to our hospital and community sites on the location pages of our website.

What should I do to prepare for my appointment?

  • Please bring a list of your current medication(s) with you.

  • Please follow any specific instructions you have been given by the department or service.
  • You might find it helpful to write down the questions that you would like to ask and bring something to write on.
  • Bring your appointment letter with you.

Top tips on how to prepare for an appointment:

  • Write down your two or three most important questions.
  • Write down details of your symptoms, including when they started and what makes them better or worse.

  • Don’t be afraid to ask if you don’t understand
  • If you don’t understand any words, ask if they can be explained
  • Write things down or ask a family member or friend to take notes

  • Check that you’ve covered everything on your list and that you understand, for example ‘Can I just check I understood what you said?’
  • Make sure that you know what should happen next – and when. Write it down.
  • Ask who to contact if you have any more problems or questions
  • Ask about support groups and where to go for reliable information and ask for copies of letters written about you – you are entitled to see these.
  • Keep your notes from the discussion.
  • Book any tests that you can and put the dates in your diary. 

What if I need patient transport? 

If this is your first appointment and you cannot travel independently to the hospital, please contact your GP to discuss this.

If this is a follow-up appointment and you need transport, this should have been arranged for you by your hospital department. You can phone your hospital department to confirm this.

What should I do when I arrive at Kingston Hospital?

When you arrive, please make your way to the Main Outpatient Entrance.

Please register at a self-check-in kiosk or report to reception. Our main outpatient areas normally have screens that display your name when your health professional is ready to see you.

If you have any questions, ask a member of staff for assistance and they will be happy to help you.

Some clinics have their own reception areas and you need to report directly to them. They will record your arrival, check your details and show you where to wait. They are:

  • Royal Eye Unit
  • Physiotherapy
  • Pain Clinic and Diabetic Clinic
  • Oral and Dental Services Clinic
  • Respiratory
  • ENT
  • Radiology

All our waiting areas have access to toilets, including wheelchair-accessible facilities. Most areas have play areas for children and refreshments.

What else is important for me to know?

We aim to see you within 30 minutes of your appointment time, but we hope you understand that doctors may be called away to an emergency or a patient before you may need longer to be assessed.

Please be patient; our staff know how frustrating it is to be kept waiting. The Trust will not tolerate any form of violence, aggression or harassment to other patients, visitors or staff.

Your name will be called when it is time for your consultation. If your hearing is impaired, please tell reception when you arrive and we will come and alert you in another way.

You will be seen by a doctor, nurse, therapist or other specialist, depending on the reason for your visit. They will read your notes and assess and examine you if necessary.

Students are often present in the clinic during your consultation. If you do not want them there, just say so and they will be asked to leave.

If a prescription is required urgently, your clinic doctor will give you one to take to our pharmacy on the ground floor in Outpatients. Prescription charges apply unless you are exempt.

If you receive income support, family credit or unemployment benefit, you may be able to claim travel costs. Please bring proof of your entitlement, your travel ticket and your appointment letter or card so that we can reimburse you.

We can arrange an interpreter for telephone, video and face-to-face appointments. Please ask a family member or friend to phone the hospital department at least 3 days before your appointment and tell us what language is needed.

If you need an X-ray or ultrasound, you will be given a request form to take to Radiology. You may be seen on the same day, or an appointment will be sent to your home address within 10 working days.

Accessibility

If you need us to provide information in a different format, such as large print, electronic, or audio, please phone your hospital department.

Please let us know if you require a translator or if you have a disability and need reasonable adjustments during your visit, for example, a BSL signer, a change to the time or length of your appointment, or access to a quieter waiting room.  You can do this by calling your hospital department after you receive your appointment.

If you have a learning disability, you can find out about how we can help on our Information for people with a learning disability page.