NHS hospital trusts have turned to basic text services in order to reduce the impact of cancelled operations and appointments.

The three NHS hospital trusts have moved to employ text services in order to communicate with patients surrounding appointments and operation times.

Despite the release of new government figures which show that the number of cancelled NHS operations has continued to rise, South London and Maudsley Hospital Trust, University College London Hospitals and Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals have deployed interactive SMS services provided by communications specialists DrDoctor, allowing patients to instantly re-book appointments.

The new avoids duplication and extra staff work when it comes to re-booking appointments.

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“Using SMS is both quick and easy, frees up time for clinical staff and makes re-scheduling dates for appointments far easier. It’s great the NHS is pioneering the use of smart, efficient two-way communication”, said Tom Whicher, the founder of DrDoctor.