Leeds reacts to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's plan to fine patients £10 for every missed NHS appointment

Rishi Sunak’s team confirmed this week that he wants to press ahead with a policy change that would see people being fined £10 for every missed appointment. The idea was first floated during his failed Conservative party leadership race against Liz Truss during the summer.

With Ms Truss’ short-lived stint at No 10 now over, Mr Sunak now has the opportunity to push ahead with the idea and others that he originally campaigned on.

A No 10 spokeswoman said Mr Sunak “stands by the sentiment” about charging for missed appointments and he is “definitely committed to ensuring that we get the best value for taxpayers, the best value for money out of the NHS”. However, she said he would first discuss the potential policy change with his newly appointed Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Steve Barclay, before bringing any firm proposals forward.

Since his interest in the idea was reaffirmed, hundreds of people have aired their views on our Facebook page as the pros and cons were debated.

Diane Raper said: “Great idea. I was in my doctors yesterday waiting for my appointment and there was a poster up for the number of appointments nobody turned up to for the previous couple of weeks. It was 78 no shows. That's 13 hours at least (based on each appointment of 10 mins). It's just selfish not to cancel. Dentists used to strike you off if you didn't show up.”

Jeanette Page also backed the move, saying: “I agree with this so many don’t turn up to appointments when others cannot get one.”

But Colin Epton could not see why there was so much concern over missing appointments, saying: “So what? The service is massively overstretched. GPs in particular have far more appointments than they can reasonably deal with. When you go for an appointment its invariably at least 20 minutes late. If someone doesn't turn up for theirs, it just relieves some of the pressure.”

Angela Sykes said: “It’s because people don’t turn up for appointments that waiting lists are longer than need be. We all just need to think of others and if we cant go just cancel and at least someone can have that appointment. At least this will help. The NHS is doing its best in very very difficult circumstances.”

NHS England says there are around 307 million sessions scheduled with GPs, nurses, therapists and other practice staff every year and five per cent – one in 20 – are missed without enough notice to invite other patients.

Under the scheme, patients would not be fined for missing their first NHS appointment but any missed NHS consultations after that would result in a £10 fine.

While many YEP readers supported the idea in theory, they were quick to point out the potential pitfalls of operating such a scheme.

Nicola Mason said: “Good luck getting people to pay the fine… the idea is good, putting it into practice is another thing.”

Helen Speight said: “Who would enforce payment when it wasn’t made? The expense of that would be more than the £10 fines brought in.”

Lee Buck suggested up-front payment could be way forward, adding: “£10 is not enough. Should be £25 as a minimum – and the fee should be paid up front when making an appointment and returned when the appointment is met. Chasing people for money will result in a higher cost.”

Reg Phillips said: “I think that there should be a £10 fee for all appointments and this should be reclaimed afterwards. Probably expensive to police but would reduce demand and prove cost-effective.”

But Julie Pickard asked what people who could not afford the £10 booking fee would be expected to do, echoing concerns already raised by the British Medical Association when the idea of fines was first suggested earlier this year. It said “financially penalising patients inevitably impacts the poorest” and said it could “discourage” sick people from rebooking any appointments they miss.

Others pointed to the difficulty of getting through to medical services to register a cancellation, with Phillippa Jane Baker saying: “Great idea if the hospital answers the phone. I rung 13 times to cancel my appointment on seven different numbers and not a single one answered.”