Cost of NHS missed appointments £1.2bn

[Tiredallthetimeneedsleep]

Currently in hospital with nothing better to do than scroll MN and perusing the web. Was shocked to find the cost of NHS missed appointments see attached

To be fair, I get copies of all appointment through either the NHS App or the Hospital's digital system. Both of which I am subscribed to. It is much, much better.

If I have to move or change an appointment, I telephone and always follow it up with a registered letter and keep the receipt. I think that matters because it means I have proof of cancelling and an audit trail in relation to anything that arises.

You can say you live in SH and I’m stereotyping you all you like but tenants (of all tenures) misunderstand their tenancy agreement all the time, every single day, in their thousands. So it’s not a crazy question.

Also them telling you they want the tenant at home doesn’t make it part of the tenancy agreement, and I am certain that unless you’re in a tiny association the person booking the gas check has never seen your tenancy agreement. So it’s not that mad of an assumption when you know how the sector works.

Doesn't always get put on there. Mum's heart scan didn't and neither was my friend's appointment yesterday. 2 different hospitals both not making the best of available systems.

But what would happen if everyone got their letters on time and turned up? It would be chaos that’s what.
Been going a lot with my dad recently and when you get there, there is always a huge wait. It would be unbearable if everyone turned up.

Same with OH. None of his hospital blood tests nor MRI/Xray/CT scan results are on the NHS apps, nor any of his hospital appointments, past nor future.

He's just been to see the ENT consultant today. Same hospital as his oncology dept, and it was the oncologist who referred him. The ENT consultant had nothing but a two paragraph typed letter as an introduction. He actually asked OH what type of cancer he had (it wasn't in the letter), what medication he was on (he said he had no access to the notes - same hospital, same trust, but different dept in the same building), and his first reaction was to refer him for a CT scan - it took OH to tell him he'd only just had a CT scan a couple of months ago - ENT consultant said there was no record of it on his system, and that it would be "quicker" to go for another CT scan rather than try to get oncology to send him the results through. It's utterly bonkers!

If tenants break their tenancy agreement for any other reason there is screaming from the rooftops and threatening with eviction Funny how HAs are happy for tenancy agreements to be broken when it suits them and their schedules.

Most appointments are now sent reminders for by phone as well. I agree about the late letters, so sms is a good way forward. Xxx

Every single appointment I had booked this year has been cancelled and rebooked twice. Sometimes by letter, sometimes by text. I am pretty ill but still able to file letters and use a diary. Heaven help anyone who can't do that. I just had a phone call from a consultant today. He wanted to know why it has been nearly three months since my urgent referral for a biopsy to screen for cancer. What can I say? Three cancellations, impossible to speak to anyone, everyone on strike. Also I am female, pushing 70 so not a priority. Although my family will be upset if I die, I suppose. At this point the cost to the NHS isn't top of my list.

Yes I have experienced all of this. It is an utter shambles. I worked nearly 40 years in the nhs. It is inexcusable.

Years ago I had a dodgy spot on my chest that kept bleeding and went to my GP as I was worried it was skin cancer. He referred me and I got a letter saying that they had no appointments for 6 months and didn’t know when they would. So I went private. It was cancer and I had it removed. Many months later I got an appointment letter. I thought, Oh I will call and cancel the appointment so someone else can have it. It took ages to get through. When I finally did, the secretary was incredibly rude. I explained the situation and she Told me i needed a special password from my GP to cancel. I was like why would I need that?? I said, getting through to my GP
is a nightmare (it was) and I was cancelling as a courtesy. She told me the appointment wouldn’t be canceled unless I did as she said. I said, ok, one last time — I will not be showing up, do with that what you want.

The NHS ‘letters’ system of using the postal service for appointments with consultants is completely archaic and inefficient. I now live in Belgium and guess what they use letters too. Only they are sent electronically to your health record, and then you are given a phone number of the specialty at the local hospital, to make an appointment at your leisure. It seems to work perfectly fine. And yes there are long waits here but why is the post still used by the NHS in the 21st century and why can’t patients make their own appointments? It’s NUTS if you think about it.

That's 0.6% of the yearly budget.