Paying for GP

[Roundhands]

I am very against the idea of paying for GP appointments, and wondering if there are any stats re how this affects people's use of their GP.

For example if Ireland was compared to UK;

What is the comparison for % missed appointments.
How often, on average do people in Ireland see a GP, compared to UK?
Does the difference vary signifianctly in different demographic groups?

Why do people miss appointments?

In January this year (the last time they posted on Facebook about it) there were 138 missed appointments.

I did email and ask if they have looked into why people miss appointments but they didn't respond.

From their website
Missed Appointments
We sadly have hundreds of appointments not attended every month, with some months over 500 missed appointments. [I have never seen a figure this high published]

Imagine how many extra appointments we would have for all out patients if they were cancelled or attended....

What is the impact of missed appointments?
Missed appointments cost the NHS over £200 millions pounds per year.

Missed appointments mean other patients needing medical help or support can not get an appointment as easily.

Please contact us ASAP if you no longer need your appointment or are unable to attend so we can offer it to someone else.

Quayside Actions
Patients receive text messages for their appointments and reminders beforehand.

Patients may be contacted by the practice if they repeatedly do not attend to identify issues and prevent this from happening.

My guess:
. because by the time they actually get seen it can be 2 weeks later and the problem has gone
. they forget
. the surgery doesn't answer the phone so they can't cancel it
. they get worse so can't attend

I'm British, have lived in Ireland for many years. While I miss many things about the NHS, I don't miss the long waiting times for an appointment with my GP.

Here I pay €60 for a GP appointment, more if they take bloods, or €30 for a repeat appointment about the same issue. We get tax relief at 20% on the cost, or can claim a proportion of it back via private health insurance. I certainly think very carefully about whether or not I really need an appointment. On the plus side, in an emergency I would be seen the same day or the next day. If I need a routine appointment and want to see a particular GP it can be a week or so.

I don't know the percentage of missed NHS appointments, but for Ireland, a quick Google picked up this:

'Missed GP appointments, commonly referred to as "Did Not Attend" (DNA) rates, typically range between 4% and 6% in Ireland. This translates to a loss of 1 to 2 appointments per day for an average GP, with higher no-show rates heavily correlated to patients holding medical cards.'

Medical cards, which give free GP appointments and various other benefits, are means tested, and are also available to children under 8, pregnant women and everyone over the age of 70 as far as I'm aware.

I also read that 42% of people in Ireland have medical cards, so that's a substantial proportion of the population who are entitled to free GP care.

I also read that 42% of people in Ireland have medical cards, so that's a substantial proportion of the population who are entitled to free GP care.

I think that percentage is for a combination of medical and GP cards. You still need to pay prescription costs with the latter.

NHS England say that missed appointments were 1 in 23 or 4.3% of appointments in 2025, according to this press release:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/2026/03/nhs-urges-tap-the-app-as-1-in-4-miss-appointments/

So pretty similar to Ireland.

GP and medical cards give free access to GPs in Ireland and as PP say, are linked to higher rates of no shows. A&E isn't free either, there is a €100 charge if you aren't referred by a GP or if you aren't admitted.
Plus side is that I rarely wait for more than 2 days for a routine appointment, always get a same day emergency appointment and can even book appointments weeks in advance for reviews. And I can shop round for a new GP, there is no catchment, my GP will talk about more than 1 issue per appointment and had more than 5 minutes with me.

None of which I could get in England from my local gp. That €60 is worth it.

I love the ease of paying for GP appointments. I would certainly recommend it to anyone who lives near me and can afford it, even if it means skimping on other things. I can be seen today rather than in three weeks. I am taken seriously and the appointments give me time to describe my symptoms properly.
Why are you against them OP? My money my choice, surely. I probably see a GP more often now I pay, as I often used to give up when I had to wait for the NHS or self diagnose or medicate etc

Non shows are not a new thing. At a surgery I attended nearly 30 years ago they put a large notice up weekly stating how many appointments weren't turned up for, sometimes it's eye watering.

I've always been of the thinking that if they are repeat offenders a wait of one or two minutes past their given time by the receptionist then its next patient in, if they turn up late, well, they can do the waiting, or appointments should be offered as the last ones of the day, if they're not there by close of business at least the receptionist/GP's can go home.

I'm a get there 5/10 minutes early type and I've been called in early due to non shows, probably not the only one and therefore they must get a few extra time slots by seeing patients earlier to maybe give to those on the day patients that phone in past the 8.30/14.00..(our surgery) cut off time.

As a child/teen our GP had a non appointment system to see them, they always said most patients/parents would give it an hour or two to see how they felt before deciding whether to phone in.
It really did work well.

my GP will talk about more than 1 issue per appointment and had more than 5 minutes with me

Yes, that's my experience too. I get as long as I need, though as everyone else does too it means you can be sitting in the waiting room for ages.

That €60 is worth it yes, I agree.

I don't believe all the stats about missed appointments, given how difficult it is to book one in advance and you usually get called in on the day. I can imagine the odd nurse's appointment gets forgotten eg if you book a smear a few weeks ahead, but not with the GP.

And if they are counting telephone appointments as actual appointments and saying they are missed if they can't get through, they are being very disingenuous.

However, I do think that if we paid for them, there would magically be a lot more face to face slots available.

And yes I think people can find it difficult to cancel appointments too, although if you use the NHS app it's very easy. But the GP surgery has to be linked to it.

I'm British living in Ireland and struggled to be able to find a GP with capacity for a new patient, and had to wait 2+ weeks for appointments, even for my young DC.

I have just checked my GP practice website and they are reporting about 2.5% missed appointments in April. That is all appointments, not just GPs. That seems to compare favourably with the numbers reported above for Ireland.

The only medical appointment I've ever missed is because events overtook things and I was in A&E. Ah, the irony.

GPs appointments are like gold dust these days.

You would be surprised how many are booked for the same day and still don't turn up. And future appointments have text messages sent at time of booking and two reminders before hand - with a link to cancel if they can't get through on the phone. Short of driving round collecting everyone, not sure what more can be done really!

People miss appointments due to mental illness largely.

I've certainly been so low that I can't get out of the house.

I have chronic UTIs. If I had to pay for every appointment to get antibiotics then I would be very, very poor.

Our GP surgery only try and call twice before cancelling and you go back to the start. For people who can't take calls at work, might be driving or have small kids then it would be easy to miss a telephone appointment. They don't give you a precise time for their call.

The only appointment I missed was because I was having an emergency c-section. It actually came to me in a flash in the post natal ward 🤦‍♀️. I'd love to know the reason for other missed appointments, ie; dead, rushed to hospital, work or childcare crisis that meant the weird mole / depression wasnt their no.1 problem at that point. I wonder how many actually just forget or don't bother to cancel.

Im lucky enough to get private medical through work. If it ended id pay. Im seen within 3 hrs normally, over the phone for most things.

Love the NHS but I cant get in with our surgery unless I book 2 weeks in advance by that point id be better or dead!

We pay in Finland and tbh it does not affect how often I see a doctor - if I need to see one then I do, without thinking about the cost (about 35 euros now I think, not sure as the last few times I've gone to the urgent side of the health centre which is cheaper). When I was poor my medical bills were all covered by income support.

Never feel rushed by the doctor and I can get blood tests and x rays done right there in my local health centre and always get a same day appointment if its urgent.

The fine for missing an appointment without cancelling is quite steep so I expect there's less missed appointments.

@TestingTimes2000 That sounds difficult, especially with children. It's regional, I think. My adult son is also struggling to find a GP in the city he lives in. He's still registered at the practice in our home village but it's inconvenient for him to get out here.

I am against charging to see your GP. Yes it is not good that many appointments are missed and not cancelled but the charge assumes people are doing so through laziness. I suspect the real reason is way more complicated.

I work in a GP surgery and the amount of people who are there every five minutes is insane. They are rarely actually ill, and several seem to just go to shout and moan about other health services they haven't bothered to go to that have now, quite rightly discharged them! On the other hand, there are as many who need to be seen who won't even try as the above patients have snaffled so many appointments - often by shouting and being awful to the lovely receptionists until they get seen, that asking politely doesn't work. And yes, we give warnings, but at the moment it's impossible to turn down an appointment if they say it's 'urgent'

I work in a GP surgery. Looking at my screen right now and we've had 5 DNA face-to-face appointments today already and it's only 5.15.

3 with a GP, (one was only made this morning), 1 with me and 1 with the phlebotomist.

That's pretty average, I'd say. We average maybe 15-20 per week.

That's despite text confirmations of the appointments with 2 reminders, 24 and 48 hours before. We print appointment labels on request for people that don't use mobile phones.

Regarding phone calls we try two or three times, and on booking they're given a rough time we'll call. If people don't have a personalised voicemail greeting we can't leave a message. If no answer after three tries yes it gets recorded as a DNA.

Yes rarely people have been admitted, or got better and forgot to cancel, or there's been an admin error and the appointment wasn't cancelled by us but that's rare. People can cancel online on our website, via the NHS app or by using the link in their text booking and reminders.

Most people DNA because they forget, or don't value the appointment as DNAing has no consequence for them. Quite how you can forget an appointment you made yourself this morning I don't know... (I'm not talking about a patient with dementia).

I’m in the U.K. and don’t struggle to get an appointment, must be lucky! You complete the web form any time of day, they triage you and call you to offer an appointment by phone or in person, typically the call is within an hour if during surgery timed. If you can’t take calls they will email as an alternative. Basic things they can deal with by email and sending prescriptions to the pharmacy, they ask you to get bloods done before seeing you in person often too. My surgery is open Saturday mornings and until 8pm 3 days a week, we are fortunate