Fine patients who fail to show, urge GPs
16 September 2004
The government is facing grassroots pressure from GPs for the right to charge NHS patients who miss appointments, after evidence that non-attendance is costing the health service £162m a year.
Research from Developing Patient Partnerships, a health education charity, found there were 8.8m missed GP appointments in Britain last year and 3.9m missed appointments with practice nurses.
Nearly all the GPs who replied to a survey by DPP and the Institute of Healthcare Management said the non-attenders had wasted NHS money and resources. And 72% said they increased waiting times for other patients.
The Guardian - August 24 2004.
