Cost of missed appointments could fund 2,325 GPS

MISSED GP appointments cost £216million a year – the equivalent of 2,325 full-time family doctors – NHS England has said as it urged patients to cancel rather than not show up.

More than 15million GP practice appointments – one in 20 – are wasted every year as patients fail to attend without cancelling with enough notice for others to benefit.

Some 7.2 million of these are with GPS, NHS Digital GP appointments data shows, adding up to more than 1.2million GP hours wasted each year – the equivalent of more than 600 fulltime GPS for a year, NHS England said.

It added that, at an average cost of £30 per appointment, the total cost could pay for the annual salary of 2,325 full-time GPS.

Prof Helen Stokes-lampard, the chairman 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 indicate 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: “Timely access to general practice appointments is a priority for the public, which is why we are growing the workforce and offering evening and weekend appointments. Patients can do their part by letting the NHS know if they can’t make their slot – freeing up doctors, nurses and other professionals to see those who do need care and attention.”