Should the NHS charge for such things?

MissAdventure

How about a donation box?
If you've been happy with your care, an appointment, your treatment or whatever, you put some money in the box.

If Museums can, why not 🤷‍♀️

How about a donation box?
If you've been happy with your care, an appointment, your treatment or whatever, you put some money in the box.

I imagine appointments are missed because the appointments letters often arrive after the appointment

Thank goodness they’ve brought in a text reminder thing

Not to mention doctors' strikes, cancelled operations, etc. The hotel charges idea - would it go beyond food: bed linen, ward cleaning, hospital radio? - was pushed under Thatcher and was canned even then.

Hotel charges are a diversion from the real NHS problems: waiting lists, getting a GP appointment, etc.

In Denmark, health-care, except dental care, is free of charge, as we pay doctors' and hospital charges through our taxes, as you do in the U.K. The state for some odd reason only pays two-thirds of our dental care, and you have to pay optician's charges and the cost of glasses yourself, unless you are practically blind. Other health-care such as chiropractors, aqupuncturists, chiropodists are paid by the client, athough in certain circumstances you may be able to get some of the cost covered by our version of the NHS, which also pays out a very small amount of money to cover part of funeral expenses.

Basically you pay a fine, if you cancel an appointment of the type you pay for yourself, or do not show up.

Hospitals and consultants now send a text message a day or two before your appointment reminding you of it. Doing so, has saved the state an enormous amount of money, as many of the no-shows have been entirely due to people forgetting that they had an appointment, or mistaking the date.

This seems a better way of tackling the problem of patients not attending than fining them, as it reduces the number who fail to turn up. Obviously, this means they are seen and treated, or at least sent onwards in the hospital service, which can literally save lives, or keep costs and time down to one or two appointments rather than a lengthy course of treatment.

The admin involved (more trouble than it’d be worth) is so often given as a reason for not charging, yet other countries seem to manage it well enough.

Can be useful sometimes. My GP referred me for a Dexa scan, I was warned I wouldn't be seen for months due to waiting list. I live about a five minutes drive to the hospital. A week after the referral I got a call to say they'd had a no show and two last minute cancellations could I get there quickly. Yes and I jumped in the car and got there as fast as I could. When I got in to the scanner room the woman doing the scan looked at my file and said, "how on earth did you get such a quick appointment?

At least one of those appointments got used and I was pleased to get it sorted fast. I think the receptionist did a good job getting that space filled.

WithNobsOnIt

I definitely think that people should be charged for missed dental, medical and hospital appointments.

Except where there go has been a genuine mix up with letters or the ambulance hasn't turned on time,or at all to take them there. Especially with mobility issues. And of course just too ill to attend

Went to my GP.yesterday and the the Surgery post this missed appointments infomation.on paper sheets on the reception room notice board every month.

Something like 10 per cent of people did not turn up for appointments.

I think people who do not attend without a good reason should be charged a £25 fine. And should be given 3 chances. Then struck off as a patient.

God Bless the NHS.

Please don't abuse it.

With letter mix ups how do you prove you didn't get the letter?

I think the admin costs would far outweigh any benefit.
Some people would argue, whilst being totally at fault, others will have a genuine reason why they would not want to pay.
There are so many variables.

I would be happy to pay for meals IF they were reasonable. But from one hospital to another it is highly variable. If you are on benefits and in for a long stay, they will cut your income.
Dentists, even NHS ones often charge for missed appointments, so why not doctors, especially hospital appointments? But I would be very much against paying for appointments - this happened before NHS and poorer folks simply did not see a doctor sometimes until it was too late.

Witzend

*mokryna*, a French friend of a dd - living and working in the U.K. - bitterly resents having to pay IIRC €250 a month for the care of her father in France, since she says he was always a workshy layabout, and a hopeless dad.

People can object, my friend did and put her point forward that her mother neglected her when she was an child and she won.
That being said parents cannot legally disinherited children

Sarnia

I had to make outpatients appointments as part of my job in the NHS. I had access to Registrar's and Consultant's clinic lists and was always disappointed to see so many spaces with 'No Show' added to the patient details. They all had waiting lists which were made worse by patients failing to keep their appointments. Making a charge would reduce this, I'm sure. Also charge people who use ambulances like taxis.

Agree so many people take it for granted unfortunately.

Problem is admin. Each surgery would need to employ at keast one f/t staff member to take people's card details, process payment, pay 2% charges etc

Graso I completely agree.Hospitals are not hotels.

jocork said I understand airlines overbook knowing that some passengers don't turn up. Perhaps a similar system is what is required, as long as the doctors are prepared to work a bit longer if everyone does turn up!

My GP trainee dd says missed appointments are an opportunity for them to catch up with the ongoing mountain of paper/computer work they have to do. GP’s aren’t sitting around twiddling their thumbs when there are no-shows.

Mamie

Tuliptree

MissAdventure

Because france has essentially private Healthcare
They also stay i touch with pafients after an op, send them to convalesce, give regular check up appointments, send in district nurses.
Why can't the uk do those things?

France spends more than us as a % of GDP and per capita. I don’t think it’s accurate to call it ‘essentially private health care’ as the main system is organised by the state with compulsory contributions with people topping up with mutuelles many if which are run by the unions.

The health care in France is essentially state funded, with top-up insurance for those who can afford it. The top-up insurance providers cannot discriminate against those with existing conditions. If your income is below the threshold the funding is 100%. If you have a a long term condition or a serious illness such as cancer then it is 100%. It is a good, socialist system, of which we had extensive experience in our twenty years there.

This just sounds so much more sensible, because of existing conditions it is often impossible to get private health care in the UK, and many would be happy to pay for top-up insurance if they knew that they would get a good service and that the money raised would go only to health care - unlike our ever increasing taxes.
Our current government has increased taxes, brought in new ones, and the new money is not directed in such a productive way.

From NHS web page

What should not happen at an NHS dental appointment

An NHS dentist or dental professional:

should not charge a deposit before assessing your mouth and teeth or checking your symptoms
should not ask you to pay privately for an appointment to check if you will be accepted for NHS dental treatment
should not ask you to become a private patient so your child can get NHS dental treatment
Shoukd not charge you a fee for missing NHS dental appointments

SunnySusie

Its a simple system at my dentists, when you make an appointment they take credit/debit card details and if you dont turn up they charge. You get an e-mail and a text reminder, one a week before, with a link to re-arrange, and one 24 hours before. They dont get involved with reasons why you were a no show at all.

Is he a private or NHS dentist? If the latter, I’m surprised he’s allowed to have a ‘no exceptions’ policy. In fact, I doubt he is but probably no one dare complain in case they get deregistered. .

Tuliptree

I’m actually really conflicted on this issue because missing appts without good reason seems unacceptable. . But and it’s a big but, I think we should first try and understand why this happens and if there’s anything that can be done to mitigate it. Secondly I’m against it because it would be incredibly difficult to implement a fair scheme and I think it would take up more resources than if would save.

Secondly I’m against it because it would be incredibly difficult to implement a fair scheme and I think it would take up more resources than if would save.

I think you are right.

The admin would add yet another layer of red tape, particularly if patients refused to pay-up, or decided to argue their case instead. Ultimately, will they be taken to Court for non-payment? Refused treatment?

There has to be a better way, but I don't know what it is.

What is the main reason why people don't show up - apart from genuine reasons like emergencies/illness/accidents/etc? Is it because they CBA? And, if so - what do you do with such individuals?

Fines will not solve the problem - if you need to understand why-so, just Google AI and ask it - the reasoning is sound and logical!

Its a simple system at my dentists, when you make an appointment they take credit/debit card details and if you dont turn up they charge. You get an e-mail and a text reminder, one a week before, with a link to re-arrange, and one 24 hours before. They dont get involved with reasons why you were a no show at all.

MissAdventure And that's the problem, the right hand doesn't know what the left hand's doing. There doesn't seem to be adequate, or in some cases any, communication on records. In your case it should have been fully documented what caused you to miss the appointment, and all your updates to them. How many people were in a similar situation to you that day and missed appointments? Locally to me there is a roadworks situation that's been ongoing for months now and causing horrendous tailbacks and total gridlock at times. What should be a 15-20 minute drive at most has taken up to 2 hours sometimes. The hospital though are aware and taking the attitude 'you get here when you can and we're really flexible on appointment times. We aim to see you as soon as possible after you arrive'. The buses no longer have a running-time timetable because it's unpredictable when they'll get through.

I forgot an appointment once and was mortified. I went in to apologise and rebook and the receptionist was really nice about it and booked me for the next week - it was for my second shingles jab so just with the nurse. I would have thought if you had a doctor's appointment it is more likely to be something you wouldn't forget. I sometimes find the reminder texts pretty annoying but maybe they are necessary for some people and hopefully waste less time.
I understand airlines overbook knowing that some passengers don't turn up. Perhaps a similar system is what is required, as long as the doctors are prepared to work a bit longer if everyone does turn up!

I had a blood test booked, but fhere were no cabs a available and no traffic on the roads at all.
I phoned around 20 mins before the appointment, and told them i was probably not going to make it.

The woman said it was fine and fo keep them updated, as they would wait.
Every 15 mins I phoned them, with my last call explaining that 2 horses had got out and onto the road leading onto the island where i live.

Traffic was gridlocked, with nobody able to move anywhere.
She explained thay she now knew what had happened, but that they couldnt hold the appointment any longer.

When i next attended, i got shorf shift for being a "no show" last time.

I’m actually really conflicted on this issue because missing appts without good reason seems unacceptable. . But and it’s a big but, I think we should first try and understand why this happens and if there’s anything that can be done to mitigate it. Secondly I’m against it because it would be incredibly difficult to implement a fair scheme and I think it would take up more resources than if would save.