Booking your appointments and receiving earlier appointment offers through MyChart

Through MyChart, to help give you more control over your appointment bookings, you will soon be able to…

book your own appointments
receive earlier appointment offers should an earlier appointment become available for you.

This is gradually being introduced across all our hospital clinics, with most clinics expected to be offering these features to patients by the end of 2026.

Booking your own appointments

You may be able to book your appointments through MyChart depending on the type of appointment you need and the department that is caring for you. This is also available to patients who do not have a MyChart account but have their email address recorded in their patient record at our hospitals.

Please be aware that you will not be able to book appointments yourself through MyChart if you need imaging or other tests on the same day as your outpatient clinic appointment, as they need to be booked in a particular order. Our hospitals will contact you to book these types of appointments.

Patients who do not have MyChart, nor a recorded email address, will continue to be contacted by our hospitals to arrange appointment bookings.

If you are a patient of our hospitals and you would like to register for MyChart, please visit this page MyChart: Access your health records | CUH (opens in a new tab).

To book your own appointment

Your clinician will determine when you need to be seen, based on your clinical requirements, and they will request an appointment for you.
6-8 weeks before your appointment is due, you will be sent a ‘book an appointment’ notification by email or MyChart app notification.
Within MyChart you will be able to choose a convenient date and time from a list of available appointments. Please be aware that appointment slots may be limited so it is best to book as soon as possible.
You will then be asked to review all the details and confirm the appointment in MyChart.
You will also be able to cancel or re-book your appointment using MyChart.

Booking your appointments via MyChart

Link: https://youtu.be/1b3zLCVqEbk

Booking your appointments via MyChart video transcript

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Booking your appointments via MyChart.

MyChart is the secure patient portal of Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

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Depending on the type of appointment you need, you may be able to book it yourself through MyChart.

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If so, 6 to 8 weeks before your appointment is due, you will receive an email, or MyChart app notification, inviting you to book an appointment.

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Click the ‘Book your appointment’ link in the email…

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…or tap the MyChart app notification…

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…to log in to your MyChart account.

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Appointments for booking will display on your home page.

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To book an appointment, click or tap ‘Schedule now’.

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You will then see confirmation of the appointment to be booked.

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Click the ‘Book’ option.

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Choose a convenient appointment date and time from the list of available appointments.

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The appointment slots shown will be within the timeframe in which you need to be seen.

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Your chosen appointment slot will be held for you until you have reviewed all the details and clicked ‘Book it’.

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Your appointment is then confirmed.

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You can reschedule it if needed or cancel it by clicking the ‘Reschedule or Cancel’ button.

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Your confirmed appointment will show on your MyChart home page…

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…and within the ‘Visits’ section of MyChart.

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If you receive an invitation to book and appointment, but you do not want to book it yourself, click the ‘Decline’ button in MyChart.

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Your clinic will then contact you to discuss your appointment.

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If you do not have MyChart but your email address is recorded within your hospital patient record…

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You will be sent an email inviting you to book your appointment if appropriate.

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The link contained in the email will allow you to use the appointment booking feature of MyChart to book your appointment or to decline self-booking.

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If you select an appointment slot, confirmation of your appointment details will be sent to you by email

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…together with a link for you to sign up to MyChart should you wish to.

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Patients without MyChart, nor an email address recorded in their hospital record, will continue to be contacted by our hospitals to arrange appointments.

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If you have any questions about your appointments, please contact the clinic caring for you.

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If you have any questions about the use of MyChart at Cambridge University Hospitals, please email cuh.mychart@nhs.net

Earlier appointment offers

Earlier appointment offers allow you to be seen earlier if possible. It also helps our hospitals to fill all appointment slots, including those becoming available at short notice and through cancellations.

You will only receive an offer of an earlier appointment via MyChart if it is the same type of appointment as your existing appointment booking.

Offers will be sent to patients in priority order to ensure that patients who need to be seen the soonest are offered earlier appointments first.

Please note that you will not receive earlier appointment offers if you need tests - such as blood tests or x-rays – on the same day as a clinic appointment. This will ensure that your tests and clinic appointments take place in the right order.

Earlier appointment offers will only be sent electronically to patients that have MyChart. If you do not have MyChart, you can sign up here (opens in a new tab). Alternatively, our hospitals will contact you (typically by telephone) to offer you an earlier appointment should a suitable one for you become available.

Receiving, accepting or declining an earlier appointment offer via MyChart

If you already have an appointment booked, but an earlier slot becomes available (for example, if a patient cancels their appointment) you may be sent an earlier appointment offer.
Earlier appointment offers will be sent to you by email or MyChart app notification. The offer will invite you to review an earlier appointment in MyChart and allow you to bring your appointment forward if convenient.
You will only be sent an earlier appointment offer if the same type of appointment as your existing appointment booking becomes available.
Earlier appointment offers will be sent to several patients at the same time, based on clinical need and priority. Offers can then be accepted or declined through MyChart. The first patient to accept an offer will be given the appointment.
If you accept an earlier appointment offer, your original appointment will be automatically cancelled and your MyChart account updated with the earlier appointment details.