GPs in Suffolk are warning that missed appointments are placing extra pressure on an already overburdened healthcare system.
Dr John Havard, a GP at Saxmundham Health Centre, said his Lambsale Meadow practice had experienced difficulties with patients missing blood test appointments, while Dr Richard West, from Woolpit Health Centre, said his surgery had experienced missed appointments of all kinds.
Dr Havard said GP and nurse appointments were hardly ever missed and believed the reason was that they happened quite soon after being booked, whereas blood tests were often arranged well in advance of the date and people were therefore prone to forget them.
He added there was a backlog of patients needing blood tests, so missed appointments were particularly ‘frustrating’ as the slot could have been given to somebody else.
“It is really frustrating because people are desperate for blood test appointments and we are desperate to fit people in, but when someone doesn’t come, it is a waste. It is such a shame,” Dr Havard said.
However, Dr West said he was aware of missed GP and blood test appointments at his practice in Heath Road and said the impact was that waiting times were extended for everybody.
He added he could not ‘go back in time’ and offer the slot to another patient.
“The numbers are enough for us to notice that we have got missed appointments and of course at the moment, the system is under quite a lot of pressure with the number of appointments that we are seeing so it doesn’t help when appointments are going to waste,” he said.
A spokesperson for East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT), which runs Ipswich and Colchester hospitals, urged patients to let them know if they could not attend an appointment.
Sarah Stalley, head of operations for Pathology at ESNEFT, said: “We would urge any patient who cannot come to their appointment to contact us to let us know so that we can reallocate the slot to somebody else.”
A spokesperson for West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, which runs West Suffolk Hospital, said: “The trust works very hard to make sure patients can be seen at the earliest opportunity for all appointments, including blood tests.
“It is important that as far as possible patients keep their appointments so we can deliver the necessary care as soon as possible.
“If patients are unable to attend, we urge them to let us know at the earliest opportunity so that we can reallocate appointments to other patients.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here