£10 Fine For Nhs No Shows

[mushroom25]

fair enough i guess given the numbers involved -

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11360847/Number-missed-GP-appointments-hits-highest-YEAR.html

now, can the government bring some sanction to bear on GPs who still refuse to have anything to do with their patients?

[maggiebee]

Is this UK wide or just for England? While I agree wholeheartedly that the system is abused (UK wide) I wonder just how this can be enforced. Will it be down to individual GP surgeries to deal with it?

[youngmafbog]

//The Prime Minister 'stands by the sentiment' of the promise he made during the Tory leadership contest in the summer, it was claimed.//

Daily Mail reporting, always read past the headlines.

Sunak doesnt appear to have said it, some spokesman did. So most likely wont happen,.

[woofgang]

I will agree to cough up if I ever no show when I am also paid when I have to wait unreasonable time to see an NHS clinician or a GP staff member and when I am unable to get an appointment or have to hang on the phone to speak to somebody.

[jourdain2]

Fining 'Missers' is fine - as long as the system gets it right! OH has venous problems in his legs as well as a heartproblem. Vascular consultant said there was nothing he could do while OH had leg ulcer (8 yrs. & counting, but it's quite small now).
When follow-up appt. with consultant was sent, we telephoned politely, explained that it would be a waste of his and our time, because wound was still open, and that it made sense to offer the appt. to someone else. This happened 3 times, same thing. Then we heard no more.
In desperation his nurses and GP demanded another consultation before Christmas. We went in September, despite OH's leg still being open. The consultants first words were:-
"Well Mr. J2, I saw you 5 years ago and then you missed three appointments." My reaction was robust and OH is now on his list to have at least one leg seen to.
So before you start fining people, ensure that the system for appointments is actually working. 3 different receptionists wasted our appointment times and blamed us.

[davebro]

woofgang - it's not a quid pro quo. No show, pay up. End of.

[douglas9401]

Of course it's not a quid pro quo, it's a tenner.

[Spicerack]

Wish Sqad was my doctor. His good nature and infectious air of bonhomie is the only medicine I'd need.

[William51]

It is a good idea to fine for No Shows as long as they can collect the fines. The government should have the power to order the GPs to give the right service, however when the NHS was started the government had to concede the right of GPs to do some private work. And i do not see why they or surgery nurses cannot work for six days a week.

[davebro]

Don't try to collect the "fine" until the no-show makes their next appointment. Then they have pay at the desk or they don't get in to see the doctor.

[Bazile]

//The process would involve many stages, notifying the failure, gathering reasons, deciding if they were valid, notifying the charge, dealing with any dispute or appeal, notifying the outcome of that stage and then actually collecting the charge.//

Therein lies the problem

[davebro]

No reasons/no appeals - if you miss an appointment then pay for the next one. The only people who might be seriously affected would be serial non-attenders.

[THECORBYLOON]

"No reasons/no appeal", would you pay if you had failed to attend because you had been in a car accident requiring treatment at the scene?

What if you had proof you had cancelled the appointment the week before?

What if there were a domestic emergency preventing you from attending the appointment?

There are any number of reasons for not attending an appointment, let alone a medical one.

[davebro]

Yes I would pay because none of those reasons is likely to be a regular occurrence & a one-off £10 or even £20 "fine" isn't going to break the bank for anyone.

[Bazile]

^^^indeed

[Bazile]

Mine was in response to Corby

[davebro]

My guess would be that most people who fail to attend do so because they simply forget the appointment or have put down the wrong time/date. That's not a valid excuse IMV.

[THECORBYLOON]

I'm not taking about folk who simply forgot. If folk have valid reasons, they should not pay a penalty.

If "a one-off £10 or even £20 "fine" isn't going to break the bank for anyone." and taking into account the cost of administration, what is the purpose?

It may not be a high percentage of your income but not everyone is that fortunate.

[Stableford]

If you want to know where all the "no-show" patients are, they are sitting in your local A&E department, which in the good old days used to be reserved for emergencies. If you aren't able to get appointments at the doctors and you aren't penalised for showing up at A&E for non-emergencies, and you allow hundreds of thousands of immigrants into the country, well, surprise surprise, you are going to have a problem. Good luck to Stephen Barclay in your new job, you have your work cut out, sir!

[davebro]

My solution would be a simple system, easy to operate, would not bankrupt anyone, would raise some money for the NHS & encourage folks to keep their appointments.

I agree that if you are going to allow appeals & a myriad of excuses for not paying then it would be unwieldy & probably inoperable.

[Ryzen]

Simple solution...2 no shows ---- find another practice