How to use this appointment sheet

Version 1.0.1 · 22 September 2026

One sheet for one visit

Put your name or another identifier you choose at the top, with the date and service. Use a fresh sheet for each visit, including a telephone or video appointment. Blank boxes are fine. Use the back or another sheet if you need more room, repeating the date and identifier.

Before: decide what matters most

Write your main concern in your own words. Choose up to three questions. Note changes since the previous visit and anything unclear in an earlier letter. Bring your current medicines list and relevant documents; the appointment sheet is not another prescription list.

During: write your understanding

Use short notes. Distinguish what the clinician said from your own question or guess. Write “not sure” instead of filling a gap from memory. You can ask a supporter to write with your permission, or make notes immediately afterwards if writing during the visit is difficult.

Check the conversation, not the whole folder

Try: “Can I read back what I understood and check whether I have missed anything?” Then say what you think the next step is. This is a request to confirm your understanding, not clinical sign-off, certification or a signature. If something cannot be clarified during the visit, record the question and the agreed contact route.

Make the next step concrete

Write down what will happen, who arranges it, the expected date and how you will be told. For a test, ask who reviews the result and whom to contact if you have not heard by the agreed time. Do not assume silence means a normal result. Record advice about seeking help sooner in the clinician's words as closely as you can.

After: file and follow through

Review your notes, move open items to the follow-up tracker, and keep the sheet under Appointments. Update the current-information sheet only with a date and source; preserve original letters. If your notes and a letter conflict, ask the service to clarify. Do not change treatment on the strength of the template or an uncertain note.