What to change
State what is available now and what remains unconfirmed. Offer an interest or information route only if the practice can manage it and explain what submitting it means.
A worked example
Illustrative example
A practice describes a forthcoming appointment type and lets visitors request information through a managed contact route. It does not show invented availability or imply that submitting the request secures a place.
Put it into practice
Before adding a launch date, check who will update it if plans move. The announcement should remain truthful even when a visitor reads it several weeks later.
Keep the announcement date distinct from any planned booking date. Without that distinction, a reader returning later may mistake the age of the announcement for evidence that booking has started.
What to agree before publishing
An early announcement should distinguish interest from booking. If readers can sign up for updates, explain the purpose of that list and what the practice has actually agreed to send. If there is no sign-up arrangement, point to the place where current information will be published. Avoid leaving a disabled booking button with no explanation. Review any planned date before it passes, because an announcement written confidently months earlier can otherwise become a misleading statement of present availability.
How to check the result
The page creates a clear expectation about the current stage of the service.
A mistake to avoid
Do not invent a launch date, price or guaranteed priority simply to make an announcement feel more complete.
Turn reading into a next step
Your action checklist
Work through these checks with your team or supplier. Tick the ones you have resolved and leave unknowns open.
Record what you know, what is still missing and the answer you need from your team or supplier.
Use project decisions only, without personal, patient or confidential details. Entries stay in this page and are not submitted to Kay & Co. Copy or download before leaving; this page does not save your notes.
Further reading
These sources provide background for the topic. The practice examples and checklist are illustrative planning suggestions from Kay & Co.
Related guides
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