NHS plea as millions of GP appointment slots are wasted by patients

MISSED GP appointments cost £216m a year, NHS England has said as it urged patients to cancel appointments rather than just not show up.

More than 15 million GP appointments – around one in 20 – are being wasted annually because patients fail to attend without cancelling appointments with enough notice for others to benefit.

Some 7.2 million of these are with family doctors, the figures from the latest NHS Digital GP appointments data show, adding up to more than 1.2 million GP hours wasted each year – the equivalent of more than 600 GPs working full time for a year, NHS England said.

It added that, at an average cost of £30 per appointment, the total cost of the disruption could pay for the annual salary of 2,325 fulltime GPs.

Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, chairwoman of the Royal College of GPs, 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 may be many reasons why a patient might miss an appointment, and in some cases it can be an indication that something serious is going on for that individual – but we would urge patients to let us know if they can’t attend as soon as possible, so that we can offer that time to someone else who really needs it.”

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.”