Doctors have called for patients who miss GP appointments without notice to be fined up to £10, as NHS data reveals nearly 4.5 million no-shows in England since the start of 2022 — around 40,000 per day. With each missed appointment costing the NHS an estimated £39, the total bill to taxpayers has reached almost £175 million this year.
Dr Sarah Jarvis, a GP and clinical director, described missed appointments as 'incredibly frustrating' and backed fines of £5 to £10. 'GP appointments are very precious because there aren’t enough of us,' she said. 'If people choose to make an appointment and then not turn up, that’s an appointment that could have gone to somebody else.' She added that patients have little excuse not to cancel, given the prevalence of mobile phones and online booking systems.
The call for fines comes amid concerns that GP appointments are being rushed, with more than a quarter of consultations lasting five minutes or less in some areas. In Basildon and Brentwood, Essex, 27.6% of appointments were under five minutes, while in Stoke-on-Trent only 15.7% were that brief. Critics described the variation as a 'stark postcode lottery'.
Professor Karol Sikora, a consultant oncologist, supported the fines, stating that failing to attend without timely cancellation is 'selfish' and denies others potentially life-saving care. However, Dennis Reed of Silver Voices, a campaign group for over-60s, argued that repeat offenders should be removed from GP lists rather than fined, warning that some might simply accept the charge.
NHS data shows that in April alone, over one million appointments were missed, representing 4.4% of total consultations. The total missed appointments for 2022 so far stands at just under 4.5 million, with the £175 million cost potentially helping to address the current backlog crisis.
