In the current climate of medical practice clinicians are under constant pressure to come up with new ways of increasing efficiency and throughput whilst maintaining a high standard of patient care. Assessment clinics are not a new idea and are widely practised in the National Health Service. The novel feature of the clinic we are describing is that all relevant professionals are present: consultant otolaryngologist, audiologist, paediatric nurse, playleader and preassessment nurse. The Wexham Park Paediatric Otolaryngology Preassessment Clinic has now been running for six years, and in this time we have experienced a marked decrease in both the waiting times for surgery and the non-attendance rate.