GP no-shows cost thousands

MORE THAN 6,000 APPOINTMENTS MISSED IN CITY

Sunderland patients failed to attend more than 6,000 GP appointments in December costing the NHS thousands of pounds a day, new figures reveal.

There were a total of 6,301 no-show face-to-face consultations with doctors and nurses over the course of the month, NHS Digital data shows.

AcrossEngland,theaverage cost of an appointment is £30, meaning no-shows in Sunderland cost the NHS an estimated £189,000 over the month – equivalent to the annual salary of eight fulltime nurses.

And with sessions usually lasting about 10 minutes, unattended appointments meant GPs and other practice staff wasted 1,050 hours of consulting time.

David Gallagher, chief officer of NHS Sunderland Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) said: “There are many genuine reasons why people may need to cancel or reschedule an appointment, but it is important that people let their GP practice know if they are unable to attend.

“GP appointments are in great demand, and by simply not turning up you are making it harder for other patients to be seen.

“Missed appointments also cost the NHS a lot of money. We all have a responsibility to make the best use of NHS resources and this includes appointments at the GP practice.

“If you have an appointment coming up that you no longer need or are unable to attend, please let your practice know as soon as possible.”