The trust running Southend Hospital is asking patients if they still need treatment. Here is what can get you removed, and the two-week letter to watch for.

The trust that runs Southend Hospital has been contacting patients since 28 August to ask whether they still need their appointment or operation. If it cannot reach you after several attempts, you can be taken off the list.

Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust set out the rules in a paper for Southend’s Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee. Councillors asked for it to examine whether patients are removed for not answering texts or letters (trust briefing, 3 November).

The paper covers the whole trust, not Southend alone. It does not say how many patients have been removed.

The committee met on Tuesday evening. We have read the paper, not the outcome of the discussion. The meeting page carries a webcast.

How the trust contacts you

The trust describes these steps:

  • If it holds your email address: an email with a link to its patient portal, Patients Know Best, and a questionnaire.
  • If you are not registered, or it has no email address: two separate phone calls.
  • If the phone calls fail: a letter giving you two weeks to contact the trust.

The trust says patients are removed only once all of these have been tried.

When you can be taken off the list

Under its Patient Access Policy, dated November 2025, a patient can be removed in three situations:

  • you decline two offered dates, given three weeks’ notice or more, allowing for periods you are unavailable and factors such as travel
  • you are unfit to go ahead for eight weeks or more because of a long-term condition
  • you cannot be reached, after at least two phone calls on different days and at different times, then a letter

The letter says that no response could mean being discharged back to your GP. The trust says vulnerable patients are given extra consideration.

If you are removed and then come back

The trust says a patient re-added to the list keeps their original waiting time, and is not treated as a new referral.

What the numbers show

Trust waiting list Patients
August 2025 179,229
August 2026 165,227

That is a fall of 14,002, by our sum. The trust’s text says “over 13,000”. It credits checking the list, extra theatre slots and better use of technology, and also points to follow-ups that patients request when they need them.

The paper does not separate how much of the fall came from removals and how much from treating people. That is the question the committee was asking.

What it means for you

  • Keep your contact details up to date. Tell the hospital if your phone number, address or email changes. The trust asks patients to do this.
  • Open post from the hospital. A letter is the last step, and it gives you two weeks.
  • Going away or not fit for treatment? Tell the trust. The rules allow for periods when you are unavailable.
  • If you have been discharged and still need treatment, speak to your GP. The trust says your original wait should count if you are added back.

Sources