Outpatients

Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust provides acute care and specialist health services across three main hospitals. Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro, West Cornwall Hospital in Penzance and St Michaels’s Hospital in Hayle. We also deliver outpatient clinics across the community, in community hospitals and other settings.

The Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust sees almost half a million outpatients every year, either face-to-face, or by video or telephone consultation. Our aim is to provide specialist consultation in the most appropriate setting at the earliest opportunity.

At the point of receiving a referral for a specialist opinion, the referral is triaged by a clinician who decides on clinical priority and whether the consultation should take place face to face (usually when an examination or same day investigations are required), by video or telephone.

We aim to ensure we value both patient and clinician time to ensure you are seen at the earliest opportunity in the most effective way, minimising the need to travel wherever possible, whilst maintaining high standards of care.

The Trust has made a commitment to achieving Net Zero (carbon neutral) by 2030. Since the middle of 2020, the changes made to delivering outpatients through introduction of video and telephone consultations have saved over 2,017 tonnes, equivalent to 677 flights from London to New York City.

Ask your clinician if a video or telephone appointment is suitable for your management.

The delivery of carbon neutral will increase through the introduction of Patient Hub to electronically communicate appointments, thereby avoiding having to send appointment letters in the post.

Help us achieve this by accepting your appointments online within 24 hours, when invited to do so, to avoid further reminders and save us sending a paper copy in the post.

Your outpatient appointment

You should have received a notification telling you:

  • The date and time of your appointment
  • Anything you need to do beforehand
  • Your appointment type: Face to Face (including location), Video or Telephone
  • What you need to have with you for your appointment

If you need further information or require the details in a different format or language, please call 01872 255037.

If you can’t attend and need to rebook or cancel your appointment

If you can’t attend your appointment and need to rebook

If you cannot attend your appointment due to the time/date or because of the type of appointment you have, please let us know as soon as possible by calling the number on your appointment letter (or the relevant number detailed below) and we will arrange an alternative day/time and/or appointment type that is more suitable.

If you no longer need the appointment

Please let us know at the earliest opportunity if you no longer need an appointment; this will allow us to offer the appointment to another patient.

If you miss your appointment

If you do not attend your appointment, your clinician will decide if you should be offered another appointment or be discharged back to the care of your GP.

We are also committed to reducing the number of wasted appointments – currently 35,000 appointments are not attended each year, leading to longer waiting times for everyone and loss of £124 on average for each missed appointment. Help us to help everyone by letting us know if you cannot attend your appointment and need to rebook or no longer need our care.

Outpatient Booking Department Telephone Numbers

  • Audiology: 01872 253747
  • Breast Imaging: 01872 252880
  • Breast Surgical Outpatients: 01872 252880
  • Cardiology: 01872 252018
  • Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS, ME): 01872 252935
  • Chemical Pathology: 01872 253300
  • Clinical Imaging: 01872 252290
  • Colorectal: 01872 253409
  • CT Scans: 01872 252290
  • Dermatology: 01736 874130
  • Diabetic Medicine: 01736 874130
  • Dietetics: 01872 252409
  • Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT): 01872 252832
  • Endocrine: 01736 874130
  • Gastroenterology: 01872 253300
  • General Surgery: 01872 253409
  • Gynaecology: 01736 874130
  • Haematology: 01872 252501
  • Hepatology: 01872 253300
  • MRI Scans: 01872 252290
  • Nephrology: 01872 253300
  • Neurology: 01736 874130
  • Occupational Therapy: 01736 758846
  • Ophthalmology: 01872 252272
  • Oral Surgery: 01872 252832
  • Paediatric Surgery: 01872 253409
  • Paediatric Urology: 01872 253409
  • Paediatrics: 01736 874130
  • Pain Management: 01872 253409
  • Physiotherapy: 01736 758846
  • Post Covid Service: 01872 252935
  • Rehabilitation: 01872 253300
  • Respiratory: 01872 253300
  • Rheumatology: 01736 874130
  • Speech and Language Therapy: 01872 252470
  • Suspected Cancer: 01872 252323
  • Trauma and Orthopaedics: 01736 758892
  • Ultrasound: 01872 252290
  • Upper GI: 01872 253409
  • Urology: 01872 253409
  • Vascular: 01872 253409
  • X-Ray: 01736 758851
RCHT operates a smoke-free policy, including e-cigarettes. We appreciate that coming to hospital can be stressful and upsetting, but we kindly ask you to please refrain from smoking and use alternative nicotine products while on our sites. This includes all buildings, hospital grounds and car parks. For further support on this and other healthy lifestyle options, please visit www.healthycornwall.org.uk.
Member of staff walking through corridor with patients

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