By the way ... DON’ T fine patients for not turning up

IF YOU ask me, the occasional patient ‘no-show’ on an extremely busy day is a relief, giving me time to see the odd one who arrives in the waiting room with no appointment, or the chance to look at the ever-lengthening list of phone calls to be returned and emails awaiting attention — or even a moment to talk to colleagues and grab a cup of tea.

But clearly, the long wait to see a GP in the NHS means no-shows are a real problem.

With 5 to 10 per cent of appointments made with GPs being missed by patients, it does not surprise me that ways of minimising those wasted slots are being evaluated. However, a recent survey that found more than half of GPs would back a proposal to fine patients for failing to attend an appointment made me see red.

It is often said that nobody appreciates a service that is provided for free, and there is no doubt that, in our society, letters of thanks are but a hazy memory.

Yet the very thought of applying a fiscal punishment to teach patients a ‘lesson’, or to make them realise the value of what they have ‘abused’, is to fly in the face of all that we stand for.

We may be irritated and feel undervalued whenever a patient does not turn up for a booked appointment, but there may be many reasons for this apart from carelessness and bad manners.

There are other ways of improving attendance. I have an app on my smartphone that reminds me of appointments, and my dentist sends me a text three days before I am due to attend, plus another on the day.

Clearly, there is the software to trigger the process, so why isn’t the same happening more widely with GP appointments?

And for the elderly with no smartphone? Why, perhaps a call from the receptionist the day before an appointment might be sensible — and many do this already.