Booking an appointment
How to book online with a clinic that uses Saff, what you need to hand, and what happens after you confirm.
Online booking on Saff is per doctor. Every doctor who takes online bookings
has a booking page, and the clinic's own page on Saff (for examplesaff.me/al-shifa) lists its doctors, with a Book online button beside each
one you can book online. Your clinic may also send you a doctor's booking link
directly, by SMS or WhatsApp, or from its own website.
What you need
- Your mobile number. The clinic uses it to find your booking, and it is
where any appointment messages go. - Your name, as the clinic should record it.
You do not need an account, an email address or an app.
Booking, step by step
- Open the doctor's booking page.
- Choose a service. If the doctor offers only one, it is already chosen.
- Choose a day. Only days with a free time are shown.
- Choose a time. If someone else takes it before you confirm, the page
says "That time was just taken. Please pick another slot." Pick another one. - Enter your name and mobile number.
- If the clinic sends appointment updates on WhatsApp, the form asks whether
you want them. The box is ticked unless you untick it. If it sends them by
text message, the form says so; if it sends none, the form does not mention
messages. - Read the two statements under Before you book, tick the box that says
you agree, and confirm.
After you confirm
The page says You're booked!, with the date and time, the doctor and the
clinic, and three buttons: Add to calendar, Track your place in the
queue and Change or cancel. This page is not your booking page: its
address is still the doctor's booking form, which opens empty again. To keep your personal booking page, open Track your place in
the queue and save the link of the page it opens (bookmark it). Add to
calendar saves the appointment with the same link in it. That page is how
you check in when you arrive, follow your place in the queue, and change or
cancel the appointment, as
Changing or cancelling an appointment
explains.
Depending on the channels your clinic has set up, it may also send you a
confirmation by WhatsApp or SMS, with a link to change or cancel. The message
does not include the clinic's street address; the clinic's page has it.
An appointment booked online does not get reminder messages, so use Add to
calendar if you want one.
If online booking is not available
A clinic can switch online booking off, and a doctor may not take online
bookings. The booking page then says "This doctor isn't accepting online
bookings right now. Please contact the clinic to book." Calling the clinic
still works: the clinic can book you in itself.