There are two appointment blocks, and they answer different questions.

Appointment Details is the list of what is booked. Use it to find a booking, search for a patient, or change an appointment.

Appointment Roster is the day itself, laid out as a column per optometrist in half-hour slots. Use it to see who is free and to book into a gap. Use the arrows to move a day back or forward, and Today to come straight back. Optometrists lets you tick which columns you want to see; the portal remembers your choice for next time. Clicking an empty slot starts a booking already filled in with that optometrist and that time.

Making the booking. Press + New Appointment. Start typing the patient's name in Patient — after two letters the portal searches and offers matches. Pick the patient from the list. Typing the name without choosing one of the offered matches is not enough; the portal will stop you and ask you to select one, because a booking has to be attached to a real patient record.

If the patient is new, there is a + Create New Patient block on the examination screen, and the Patients block on your home page can create one too.