Attendance failure at paediatric medical outpatient clinics.

Failure in attendance at medical out-patient clinics at Princess Mary Paediatric Hospital occurred in 46 percent of patients. This was due to patient error, administration error and patient non-compliance. Failure in attendance by Polynesians was due to error and non-compliance; caucasians mainly non-compliance. Hospital administrative errors accounted for default in 6 percent of all patients. Methods of reducing the problem of failure in attendance at out-patient clinics are considered. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of failure in attendance at Princess Mary Paediatric Hospital (PMH) medical out-patient clinics (OPC) and to establish the reasons for default.