Missed doctors’ appointments cost the NHS £216million a year, with one in every 20 patients failing to turn up
- The cost of missed appointments in England could pay for 225,000 cataract ops
- NHS England figures show 15 million appointment slots were missed last year
- Around 7.2million were with busy GPs, which mean 1.2million hours were wasted
Missed doctors’ appointments are costing the NHS £216million a year – the equivalent of nearly 225,000 cataract operations.
Around one in every 20 GP sessions goes to waste because patients fail to attend or cancel without sufficient notice.
NHS England figures show that overall more than 15million appointments with doctors, nurses, therapists and other practice staff were missed last year.
Around 7.2million of those were with busy GPs, which meant more than 1.2million hours were wasted.
The missed GP appointments alone, at around £30 each, cost the same as 216,000 drug treatment courses for Alzheimer’s, 58,000 hip replacements or the annual salary of 8,424 full time community nurses, analysis by NHS England found.
Dr Nikki Kanani, acting director of primary care for NHS England, said: ‘Our message is clear – if you cannot make it to your appointment or no longer need a consultation, please let your GP practice know in advance so the appointment can be filled by another patient.’
Missed doctors’ appointments are costing the NHS £216million a year – the equivalent of nearly 225,000 cataract operations. File image used
Rising demand and falling GP numbers mean it is increasingly difficult for patients to see their family doctor, with missed appointments adding to this pressure.
Latest figures show one in ten patients face a wait of three weeks or more to see someone at their local practice.
Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, of the Royal College of General Practitioners, said: ‘When patients miss appointments it can be a frustrating waste of resources for GPs and our teams, but also for other patients who are struggling to secure an appointment for themselves.’
There are almost a million appointments a day carried out in England, with numbers highest during winter months.
Additional evening and weekend appointments were also made available over the festive period to cope with rising demand.
Around one in every 20 GP sessions goes to waste because patients fail to attend or cancel without sufficient notice. File image used
Dr Richard Vautrey, of the BMA union, said: ‘Every appointment at a GP practice is precious, especially at a time when GP services are struggling to cope with rising patient demand, staff shortages and inadequate budgets.
‘Practices will try many ways to address this problem, but ultimately patients do need to play their part.’
Patients who fail to return crutches, walking sticks and wheelchairs cost the NHS millions each year.
Data shows four out of five walking aids are never returned. But some hospitals admitted they did not keep track of equipment or record how many crutches they issued.