Waitlist message templates
A slot opens at 16:40 tomorrow. Someone has to offer it, quickly, without phoning nine people in a row. These are the four messages that do it — offer, nudge, confirm, close — with the square brackets you fill in.
Use them in order, and stop at the first yes
A cancelled slot is worth filling for about as long as it takes the patient to make other plans, so these are written to be answered in one tap. Offer it to a few people rather than the whole list, give them a deadline, and tell the ones who miss out — the message that closes politely is the one clinics forget, and it is the reason people stay on the list.
Four messages, in the order you send them
Replace anything in square brackets. Keep them short — these are read on a phone, usually while the person is doing something else.
1. The offer
Hello [name] — a slot has just opened with [doctor] on [day] at [time]. Would you like it? Reply YES to take it, or NO and you stay on the list for the next one. — [clinic]
2. The deadline nudge
Hi [name] — still holding [day] at [time] for you. I'll offer it to someone else at [deadline] if I haven't heard back. Reply YES to keep it. — [clinic]
3. The confirmation
Booked — [day] at [time] with [doctor]. You're off the waitlist for this one. If anything changes, reply here and we'll move it. — [clinic]
4. The polite close
Thanks [name] — that slot has gone to someone else this time. You're still on the list and I'll message you at the next opening. — [clinic]
Consent, opt-out and who you may message
Only message people who asked to be on the list, and let them leave it as easily as they joined — a line at the end of any of these saying how to stop is enough. Keep the offer to the appointment itself: a waitlist message is an administrative note about a time slot, not a place to discuss symptoms or urgency. If someone replies with a clinical question, move the conversation to whoever in the practice should answer it.
These examples are jurisdiction-neutral and are not legal advice. Messaging rules differ by country and by what you told patients when they joined the list.
Questions
How many people should I offer a slot to at once?
Few enough that you can honour it. Offering one slot to twenty people means nineteen disappointments and a reputation for messages that mean nothing. Two or three, with a deadline, then the next few.
Do I need a WhatsApp template for these?
If you are starting the conversation, yes — a message you send first has to use an approved template. If the patient wrote to you within the last 24 hours, you can reply freely in that window.
Is the waitlist available on every Morasel plan?
No. The waitlist is a selected pilot, enabled per clinic on request rather than switched on automatically by the trial or a plan. The templates on this page work whether you run the list in Morasel or on paper.
What if nobody takes the slot?
Send the offer to the next few names and move the deadline forward. A slot the same afternoon is harder to fill than one next week, which is an argument for asking a shorter list faster rather than a longer one slowly.
Run the list without the phone round
See how the waitlist works inside Morasel, and what a clinic has to ask for to switch it on.