Ferrari calls action over patients skipping GP appointments

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NHS data showed almost 4.5 million appointment slots have been recorded as “did not attend” this year, costing the NHS more than £1.5 million a day. In light of the figures, some doctors have started making calls for patients who skip GP consultations to be fined up to £10. LBC host Nick Ferrari supported the proposal and claimed fining non-showers to NHS appointments “should just become reality”.

Mr Ferrari said: “These calls should end now.

“It should just become a reality.

“This is nothing but rudeness.

“It is costing the NHS around £1.5 million a day in people who are damn rude if they make an appointment and then don’t attend to let them know.

“Just fine them, and make it an increasing scale.

“So by the time you start cancelling three times, you’re looking at about £50 or £60 I would suggest.

“It is the height of rudeness.”

He also added: “You shouldn’t do it with restaurants. You wouldn’t do it with anyone else. You ring another important organisation or tell your boss ‘I’ll come and see you at 3 o’clock this afternoon’ and then you don’t turn up.

He suggested: “So just to explain, if you miss your appointment tomorrow, that’s £20.

“Miss a next one, for three years it’s £40, and then it goes on and on and on.

“And hopefully we can get you to about £160, if you’re rude enough [not to show up].

“And by the way, if you don’t pay you don’t get to see the doctor.

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“It’s desperately simple”.

According to the Daily Mail, the latest NHS data shows that only in April over 1,044,698 GP appointments in England were classified as “did not attend”.

Since the start of the year, the total number amounts to nearly 4.5 million “did not attend” appointments, about 40,000 per day.

The situation prompted some doctors to call for patients who fail to show up for their appointments to be fined for taking up the time another patient could have been seen.

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