Valuing the NHS

The NHS is not free. It is free at point of use, it is funded by taxpayers ie most of the population. Free at point of use is key otherwise healthcare is denied to those who cannot afford it.
auntybee I have worked in the NHS and was told by a person who was responsible for the provision of statistics never to believe them. I have to say that it did seem at times that the NHS was run for the convenience of staff rather than patients.
Not being allowed in with relatives who are being assessed is also the practice in our general hospital. I accompanied my DH to hospital following an emergency and the ambulance driver told me to wait 20 mins and if no one comes to get me then go in. That's what I did.

I agree with NotSpaghetti If I make an appointment and can't go, I cancel it. If someone makes an appointment that I haven't asked for, I just don't go. If they make appointments unilaterally they know very well that a lot of people won't keep them so they should review the attendance and overbook for the minimum number of non-attendances they have on a daily basis.
There is no moral obligation to use poo sticks and I don't see how that in any way equates with not turning up for appointments.
Last time I had to change a dentists appointment, they said that she wasn't working on the day of the appointment (as if that was somehow my fault) so errors work both ways. It is lucky that I didn't turn up.

We claim to value our NHS but our behaviour shows that we abuse our NHS.

Missed appointments and refusing health screenings are chronic, hugely wasteful and deserve a lot more publicity nationally and locally.

NHS services being free at the point of delivery may cause this but even airlines overbook because of no shows.

Not sure I believe those shocking NHS stats. Whilst recent experiences of my own local services, both Dr surgery and hospital, have been fab in all aspects, my experience in caring for others living in a city have been entirely different: local Dr surgery too oversubscribed and therefore patient care lacking/minimal and hospitals are overwhelmed/struggling to meet Government expectations. Over last couple of years there seems a prevalence of appointment letters received only to be delayed shortly b4 said date (and sometimes twice!) at both hospitals. We recently attended aappointment and were about to be chastised by specialist for 2 "no shows" before eventual turning up. However when he saw photos of all letters on my phone (I know, I'm sad but its just my way of being organised!) he soon changed the conversation! A flippant remark made later suggested postponed appointments are just a way of ensuring targets are being met! My worry is we're all being mislead by these shocking numbers.......

I don't think the NHS should take it upon themselves to issue appointments unasked. If you're an unreliable type, you're not going to bother to ring and cancel (and, in fairness, if you never asked for appointment, you might feel 'why should I?') I think a note with a phone number for YOU to make a date IF YOU WANT is surely the only sensible way to do it! We are free agents and each has the absolute right to decline any offered test or procedure, whatever 'the Authorities' tell us!

Of course it is bad that appointments get missed but not all of them are the fault of the patient. At my GP surgery we have to make appointments as much as 25 days ahead and we don’t automatically get a reminder text. There are also many people like myself with short term memory difficulties. I can have something I need to do on my mind all morning then have it vanish from my brain half an hour beforehand if some happening distracts me. My daughter has my appointments on her phone calendar so she can remind me but not everyone is as fortunate as I am.

When I fell and was carted off to hospital for major surgery my daughter phoned a hospital where I had an upcoming appointment to tell them I couldn’t come and why. I was sent another appointment for 9 months later which I felt was punitive. Years later my Consultant, who has known me for 15 years and knows me very well, asked why I had a ‘Missed appointment’ flagged up in my notes. She said another time phone the clinic and not outpatients appointments.

My daughter took her infant son to a hospital hearing test and then saw the consultant to discuss the results. A day or two later she received a referral to a different clinic for a hearing test. She phoned her GP who knew nothing about it and then the first hospital, leaving a message which was not replied to. So she rang the consultant’s secretary who said that it was a mistake and the second referral would be cancelled. My daughter also phoned the second hospital clinic to explain and tell them the appointment was cancelled.

Fast forward two months and she has received a letter from her GP asking her to make an appointment to discuss a letter received by the surgery from the second hospital informing them that she had missed a hospital appointment for her son. A black mark on her record which she is not happy about. Giving out hefty fines would be a field day for solicitors.

I could not count how often I have left messages on NHS answer machines and never had anyone call back.

People understandably dismiss the idea of a fine for a no show, as too hard and costly to implement.

How about a refundable fee when you first need an appointment? I would be prepared to pay, say £10 charge, when I book an appointment. Then if you turn up, it is automatically returned to you. You lose the fee if you don't appear, or ring and cancel at least 24 hours before hand.

I know this seems harsh, but something needs to be done. The NHS has always been free, but it won't continue unless something is done.

When I attended my last diabetic eye screening,I was thanked for attending,I was the first person who had kept their appointment that day.Its not a pleasant test but I am so grateful for it as early intervention can save sight.When I said this,they said people don’t attend as they feel fine and by the time they do attend when they feel there is a problem it is usually too late to help them.We are so lucky to have the NHS,even the cost of monthly medication would be beyond a lot of people’s income,I wish people would appreciate what we have and not abuse it.I worked in pharmacy in hospital and the community for a long time and the abuse of the NHS and some people’s sense of entitlement was unbelievable at times.

There's a slight illogicality about all this; it must surely depend on what department we are considering. If I have a late appointment at my GP surgery it can sometimes be delayed by as much as an hour - presumably because everybody, or almost everybody, who had an appointment that morning, turned up. Some things are difficult to estimate in terms of time. They can probably work out the duration of a mammogram appointment to within a couple of minutes, but GP appointments, while allocated a standard length of time, could take anything from a few minutes to over 20. Surely the cost of a missed appointment in those circumstances is negligible - receptionist time on the phone to make it in the first place, and what else? Even my notes are on a computer, accessed by the doctor immediately before I'm called in, unlike those at the hospital's eye clinic which are in a cardboard folder now an inch and a half thick. I'm sure I heard recently that hard-pressed GP surgeries actually rely on the probability of no-shows in order not to have to rush through the later appointments in order to fit them in.

This is not to deny the amount of time and resources wasted by those who can't be bothered to go, and at the very least, it's rude not to even let them know, but it's not a one-way street.

I think the NHS could learn a lot from the systems in other countries. Most countries even if they have heavily subsidised healthcare don't provide it totally free as people don't seem to value free services.

I live in Sweden where healthcare is heavily subsidised but most still have to pay a fee (free healthcare under 20 and over 85). For example a GP appointment is £15 but if you don't turn up it's £30 plus a £5 invoicing fee. If you need to cancel you can do it by phone on a special answerphone where you give your personal number and appointment time or using your phone/computer online.

I don't receive reminders glammanana. If I did, I would have known about them.

If only the NHS would stop "informing" people by letter and allowed us to BOOK appointments that would help.
I've missed 2 appointments over the last few years because the letter arrived AFTER the date.
This goes on my records as a no-show.

I had an appointment to see a specialist but it was not for 6 months. It’s a sign of the times. Also can’t get an appointment at my surgery for 14 days anytime you call and my Dr called me back at 9pm one night because she was so busy - bloody disgrace for people just not turning up - at least have the decency to call and cancel.

My daughter had an emergency and was sent to an admissions department at a local hospital. What happened later was quite shocking First of all no friends or family were allowed to accompany patients waiting to be assessed. The waiting time was about 5 to 6 hours. These are people who are really quite sick. Sitting next to my daughter was an elderly man with terminal cancer on a heavy dose of morphine. He had been sent to hospital by a nursing home. His niece accompanied him then had to leave him unaccompAnied. He woke up distressed and my daughter was having to reassure him and constantly ask for medical attention as they had been waiting hours. Now my daughter is severely disAbled herself and all this time they are in a waiting room. My daughter was not able to do anything apart from reassure him and constantly try to get him help. Now he wasn’t even lying down he was in a chair and this was for hours. They didn’t even have a trolley to put him on. My daughter did say that she was offered coffee and sandwiches twice and her observations were taken eg BP but you you not think it’s terrible that a severely disabled young woman withMS is left trying to help someone with terminal cancer disoriented distressed and in severe pain in a waiting room. No medical staff available as they were so busy with other patients. This has really concerned me

Two years ago I had my last ‘official ‘ mammogram. When the age of seventy is reached you have to ring for an appointment instead of bring on the automated call back system.
Having heard of several friends who have been diagnosed with breast cancer (over seventies) I would have thought that they would increase the age to eighty. Perhaps those wasted appointments could be used by them!

Truly selfish and quite disgusting .... a hefty fine would maybe focus them on their responsibility.

Please remember sometimes no one answers the phone - to make or cancel an appointment. That's what it's like in our area, unfortunately. In addition, there are sometimes costly mistakes. I was invited to the wrong clinic three times before I got what I needed. The whole process took a year (it wasn't urgent) and involved numerous phone calls and no answers. Sorry but there we are.

I feel that there is no excuse for missed appointments we all receive either text messages or home phone reminders when an appointment it due giving the patient plenty of opportunity to cancel if they are not going to attend.
The term Use it or Lose it springs to mind.

I think you should go Teetime!

I agree Kitty my beef is how often people go to their GP for the most trivial of ailments which will usually get better on their own with rest, a light diet no fags or booze or something the pharmacist can sort out. I am putting off seeing my GP as I am hoping I am imagining these palpitations and dizzy spells. I will go sometime. I hop you r results come soon and all is well.

I do agree that some people do not treat the NHS with respect. I expect there are people who miss appointments because of unforeseen circumstances or mental health issues. But I don't think that can account for all these missed appointments.

My own view is that along with championing people's rights there should also be more emphasis on behaving courteously and responsibly in all areas of public and private life.

I think charging for missed appointments would be a very complicated, time-consuming and costly exercise. Education, in my view, is the key.

Kitty

It gets my back up to see how many missed appointments there are at our doctors surgery monthly and that is only one surgery in our area the rest are all the same, obviously nationally.

If a political party took the mantle and charged patients for missed appointments the shouts of ' shame on them ' would come from the usual quarters of that I have no doubt.

Missed appointments obviously may have times where the patient is not at fault and that should be recognised but the cost involved , the waste of time for the doctor/nurse and the roll on effect of patients who are genuinely in need not having the opportunity to have taken their slot is a scandal .

Sadly missed appointments are only one of a raft of
areas that squander money and resources.

People do not value the NHS because it is free. Market Research has shown that the response rate goes up if there is a nominal charge.

Why not charge those who miss appointments unless they have a very good reason. There may be a very good last minute reason: a bus cancelled, a child ill, but if not, charge £10, to be paid before they have another appointment with either GP or specialist, except in an emergency.

Please feel free to join my other brother and I in nagging him and his wife about that and the flu jab!!

It is shocking that people do not turn up.
I got three texts reminding me of my consultants appointment yesterday - as if I would consider not going!! The text said a missed appointment cost the NHS £160. Obviously people also do not turn up for consultants.

Your brother should do the bowel screening - it is so common and I know a number of people who discovered they had bowel cancer through the screening. If my DH can do it I am sure anybody can and he does it as soon as it comes in.