Comment: Surgery time too valuable to waste

Jan 29 2008 Liverpool Daily Post

THE selfishness of people who book doctors’ appointments and then fail to show up or cancel their appointment beggars belief. And yet, according to medical practitioners, it is a growing problem on Merseyside.

Not only is it irritating and plain discourteous, it also has an impact on patient access to services and is jeopardising NHS efficiency, with some city surgeries reaching breaking point.

It also, according to one doctor, "makes a mockery" of government plans to increase surgery opening hours.

The scale of the problem is staggering. It is estimated that 3,000 appointments were missed at one Merseyside surgery alone last year

And yet nobody seems to have any clear idea on what to do about it. The Department of Health argues patients want longer opening hours, a view supported by The Patients Association.

Former North West regional director for public health John Ashton also thinks there is a real need for extended opening hours in the area.

On the other hand, doctors are experiencing real frustration at the numbers of patients who do not show up, which they believe is likely to be exacerbated by longer opening hours.

Liverpool Local Medical Committee and the British Medical Association have confirmed missing appointments is prevalent throughout Merseyside, and want to raise awareness of the serious effect it is having on services. It means patients cannot get appointments when they are ill because so many are being missed by other patients.

It would appear the Government has not taken this issue into account when devising plans for longer surgery open- ing hours. Perhaps it would be better instead to take decisive action over the number of failed appointments, either by fining persistent offenders or striking them off the doctor’s register altogether.

But the best way to avoid such Draconian action would be for people who make an appointment to show up for it, or have the decency to cancel beforehand to free up a much-needed slot for someone who genuinely needs it.