Who gets offered a freed slot

Waitlist auto-fill does not blast every waiting patient with every gap. Offers go only to the entries that genuinely fit the slot.

The matching rules

When a slot is freed, a waitlist entry is offered it only if all of these hold:

• Status is Open. Entries already marked Booked or Removed are never contacted.
• The treatment fits. The entry either asked for the same treatment as the freed slot, or recorded no treatment preference.
• The date fits. If the entry has a preferred window (a preferred from and preferred to date), the slot's date must fall inside it. Entries with no window match any date.
• There is enough notice. Slots starting within your Don't offer within (hours) setting are not offered at all.

Getting more offers to the right people

The practical upshot: the more accurately you fill in a waitlist entry, the better it works.

• Record the treatment where the patient has a specific one in mind; leave it as no preference for flexible patients so they match everything.
• Set the preferred window honestly. A window of next week only means slots this week pass them by, which is exactly what the patient asked for.
• Keep the list tidy: mark entries Booked or Removed promptly so offers only chase people still waiting.

Every match is offered at once

All matching entries are contacted for the same slot, each with their own claim link, and the first to claim wins. A patient who misses one offer stays open on the list and will be offered the next matching gap.