Increasing demand for our weekly difficult-asthma clinic means routine appointments are at a premium. This led us to explore the reasons why patients failed to attend for appointments and whether contacting them by telephone within a week of their missed scheduled appointment increased attendance. Memory lapses were the most common reason for non-attendance. Telephoning non-attenders led to a two-fold increase in attendance at subsequent clinics. Non-attendance may be a reflection of poor concordance, which, in itself, may contribute to a patient's difficult asthma.