How to Book or Cancel an NHS Appointment: GP and Hospital

GP and hospital appointments are booked and cancelled in different ways. Here is how to manage each one, and the mistake to avoid when cancelling a hospital appointment.

Updated · 5 min read

Illustration of a calendar with one appointment booked and another crossed out

You can book or cancel a GP appointment in the NHS App, through your surgery's website, by phone or in person. Hospital appointments work differently: your first appointment after a referral can usually be managed online with the NHS e-Referral Service or the NHS App, and later appointments are managed with the hospital directly. Always cancel rather than missing an appointment, so it can be given to someone else.

Booking a GP appointment

The NHS website lists four ways to book:

  • logging in to the NHS App or the NHS website
  • using a form on your GP surgery's website
  • phoning the surgery
  • going into the surgery and speaking to the receptionist

Your surgery may ask what you need help with before booking. This helps them decide how soon you need to be seen and whether a GP, nurse, pharmacist, physiotherapist or another professional is best placed to help.

Booking in the NHS App

  1. Select Appointments.
  2. Select Book an appointment.
  3. Select Check for available GP appointments.

If a slot disappears while you are booking, someone else got there first. Check again, as there may be a slot at the same time with a different clinician.

Surgeries often only put some appointments online, and not all surgeries allow app booking. If you cannot see any, you may be offered Ask about a health problem or Request an appointment instead, or you can contact the surgery.

Urgent and out-of-hours appointments

You cannot book urgent appointments in the NHS App. Phone your surgery for urgent or same-day appointments. If it is closed, a recorded message will tell you who to contact, or you can use 111 online or call 111.

Many areas also offer GP appointments on weekday evenings between 6.30pm and 8pm and on Saturdays between 9am and 5pm. These may be at your surgery or at another local surgery or NHS service.

Cancelling or changing a GP appointment

In the NHS App:

  1. Select Appointments.
  2. Select Manage GP appointments.
  3. Find the appointment and select Cancel this appointment.

There is no option to move an appointment to a new time. To change it, cancel and book again.

If the appointment is very close, the surgery may not let you cancel in the app. Phone them instead. The NHS App help page also says appointments may not show in the app if your surgery does not allow online booking.

Booking your first hospital appointment

When a GP refers you to a hospital or specialist clinic, the referral is often made through the NHS e-Referral Service. You will usually get a letter or message with a booking reference number and a password or access code.

You can then book online at the Manage Your Referral website, or in the NHS App:

  1. Select Appointments.
  2. Select Hospital and specialist appointments.
  3. Choose the referral, then a clinic, then a date and time.
  4. Check the details and select Book appointment.

You must be 16 or over to manage hospital appointments in the NHS App.

In most cases you have a legal right to choose which hospital or service you go to, including private hospitals that provide NHS services. It is worth comparing waiting times and travel distance before choosing.

Changing or cancelling a hospital appointment

Asking to reschedule

In the NHS App, select the appointment under Hospital and specialist appointments, then Ask to reschedule appointment, choose a new date and time and give a reason. The hospital reviews your request, and the appointment shows as pending until they reply.

Cancelling: read this first

The NHS App help page on hospital appointments warns that if you ask to cancel, you may not be able to change your mind. Depending on the hospital, you could be removed from the waiting list, and you would then need a new referral.

If you only need a different date, ask to reschedule rather than cancel.

Follow-up appointments

You can only manage your first referral appointment in the NHS App. For follow-up appointments, use the contact details on your appointment letter.

Some hospitals do not share appointment information with the app. If a hospital has contacted you about an appointment that is not in the app, it is still booked and you should go.

Why cancelling matters

If you cannot go, telling the surgery or hospital as early as possible means the slot can be offered to someone else. Repeatedly missing hospital appointments without telling anyone can, under some hospitals' policies, lead to you being discharged back to your GP.

If you are not registered with a GP

You can call any GP surgery for emergency treatment for up to 14 days if you are not registered or are away from home. For longer, register as a temporary or permanent patient.

Choosing your hospital

When you are referred, you may have more than one hospital or clinic to choose from. The NHS website suggests considering:

  • how long you would wait for your first appointment
  • how quickly you could start treatment
  • how far away the hospital or clinic is

You can also book your first appointment by phone through the NHS e-Referral Service on 0345 608 8888.

Booking questions people ask

Can I book a GP appointment for my child?

Yes, by phone or in person, or in the NHS App if the surgery has set up family and carer access for you.

What if I cannot get an appointment?

Contact the surgery directly. Pharmacies, NHS 111 and sexual health clinics can also help with many problems without an appointment.

Sources

Checked on 14 October 2026:

This guide explains the general rules for staff in England using 2026/27 figures. It is not financial advice. Your employer, payslip or NHS Pensions statement has the final word on your own pay.

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