Missed appointments in the NHS

My wife and I have just returned from our local hospital where she underwent a computerised X-ray scan of her colon.

A notice in reception stated that in March 2017 there were 251 no shows wasting 502 hours of consultant/doctor's time with a total overall cost of £150,000.

FOR ONE MONTH

I assume this was for the whole hospital and not the endoscopy dept.

My wife had to wait six weeks from referall for this appointment.

Multiply this across the whole NHS and you can see what a terrible waste of money this cost the taxpayer without of course the inconvenience and worry to patients that have to wait longer than necessary to be seen.

If you miss or change the appointment twice then you are referred back to the doctor that asked for the procedure.

Evidently this is no discouragement to the patients that can't be bothered to phone to cancel their appointment.

What more can be done???

We have nothing but praise for the staff.

My wife and I have just returned from our local hospital where she underwent a computerised X-ray scan of her colon.

A notice in reception stated that in March 2017 there were 251 no shows wasting 502 hours of consultant/doctor's time with a total overall cost of £150,000.

251 no shows out of a total of how many? (How many did turn up).

Definitely one

A notice in reception stated that in March 2017 there were 251 no shows wasting 502 hours of consultant/doctor's time with a total overall cost of £150,000.

FOR ONE MONTH

They just factor in a certain amount of no shows; the no shows could be down to the person becoming ill. double booking, or a failure of the cancellation telephone message not being passed on.

I recently had a text message reminder for my appointment, but no facility to reply.

Threads usually end up blaming things on those in society that dont give a fig.

A lot of this could be down to elderly people who's transport didn't turn up in time. I seriously doubt that someone with this kind of problem would miss a screening appointment on purpose.

But that information was not available to you so it might be wiser to not jump to accusations.

A lot of this could be down to elderly people who's transport didn't turn up in time. I seriously doubt that someone with this kind of problem would miss a screening appointment on purpose.

 

But that information was not available to you so it might be wiser to not jump to accusations.

A lot of this is a consequence of the NHS's own abysmal admin systems.

I know when my Dad was dying of cancer, the NHS medicars often went to the wrong address, leading to him being late, or missing appointments through no fault of his own.

Due to his condition he'd taken, towards the end, to staying at his partners bungalow, as his house had stairs he couldn't deal with.

Despite him, and me, informing the NHS, on multiple occasions, that he was now living at his partners house, the admin system couldn't seem to deal with a simple address change and so the medicars continued to turn up at the wrong address.

It's a real shame that a health service full of well-meaning, hard working, doctors, nurses and other medical staff, is led down so very badly by an atrocious admin/record system.

.....

Despite him, and me, informing the NHS, on multiple occasions, that he was now living at his partners house, the admin system couldn't seem to deal with a simple address change and so the medicars continued to turn up at the wrong address.

 

It's a real shame that a health service full of well-meaning, hard working, doctors, nurses and other medical staff, is led down so very badly by an atrocious admin/record system.

Well interestingly many of the admin staff are also hard working dedicated people. It is just that because people complain of "employing middle managers and bean-counters" there are not enough of them and those that do the job are often overwhelmed by workload.

Thank you onewheeldave.

As one of the "ineffective" admin staff I'm faced with a heap of red tape and crap systems but still try to get the best care for patients. Many patients don't bother to turn up, wasting valuable clinic slots for very ill people. A lot of these insist on translators for a variety of obscure languages and STILL don't turn up; payment still has to be made to the translator and the clinic slot is wasted time and money.

There is a huge demand for Medicars and ambulances to bring people to appointments etc. People are taking the michael. Whilst there are many genuine cases, what happened to family and friends?

Don't get me started.

Evidently this is no discouragement to the patients that can't be bothered to phone to cancel their appointment.

What more can be done???

Did you get any reminders?

When I lived in another part of the UK I got an SMS reminder a few days before my appointment, followed by an automated phone call 24 hours before the appointment. Needlesss to say I didn't forget!

The wonders of technology

Well interestingly many of the admin staff are also hard working dedicated people.

I know- I've not said otherwise.

Thank you onewheeldave.

 

As one of the "ineffective" admin staff I'm faced with a heap of red tape and crap systems but still try to get the best care for patients

What I said was-

A lot of this is a consequence of the NHS's own abysmal admin systems.

It's a real shame that a health service full of well-meaning, hard working, doctors, nurses and other medical staff, is led down so very badly by an atrocious admin/record system.

---------- Post added 18-04-2017 at 21:53 ----------

Many patients don't bother to turn up, wasting valuable clinic slots for very ill people.

And some, as I said above, like my terminally ill Dad, don't 'turn up' because their arranged medicar goes to the wrong address, because of the NHS's abysmal admin system.

---------- Post added 18-04-2017 at 21:54 ----------

There is a huge demand for Medicars and ambulances to bring people to appointments etc. People are taking the michael. Whilst there are many genuine cases, what happened to family and friends?

 

A lot of people do not have family and friends who can drive them to appointments.

Whilst there are many genuine cases, what happened to family and friends?

 

Don't get me started.

That'll be the "I paid for this NHS in my taxes and I'm going to get my monies worth from it" attitude I expect.....

---------- Post added 19-04-2017 at 02:01 ----------

Well interestingly many of the admin staff are also hard working dedicated people. It is just that because people complain of "employing middle managers and bean-counters" there are not enough of them and those that do the job are often overwhelmed by workload.

Or that the mediacars are contracted out to a third party transport company who dont action the change of address that is passed on... I imagine that happens more often that people think too..

---------- Post added 19-04-2017 at 02:07 ----------

A lot of this is a consequence of the NHS's own abysmal admin systems.

Contrarywise I've never had any problems at all with the NHS admin systems in 40 plus years and I've moved about a dozen times and made considerably more use of the service than the average 45 year old would expect to....

I suspect a great deal of it is people who see it as a free service and simply dont value it because it doesnt apparantly cost them anything.

I suspect a great deal of it is people who see it as a free service and simply dont value it because it doesnt apparantly cost them anything.

People don't realise how precious a free resource is, unless they previously had to pay for it or until it's gone. And the few who understand it's true value, are those I'd call the exceptions that confirm the rule.

As a 'high-end' professional services provider for close to 2 decades, let me tell you that the biggest problem I face, have always faced and will likely always face, is the mental disconnect in clients between what service they're getting, and what financial value they mentally associate with that service (as opposed to how much they get billed, which is the market value of that service and what they should be associating).

No service, however good and professional and useful and <...>, gets valued by anyone when it is free for the taking.

And when something as good and professional and useful and <...> as the NHS has been free for the taking for so long, every other service, private like public, gets perceivably devalued, significantly so.

Clients are forever moaning when I send them a £150+VAT bill for a 30 minute chit-chat/advice by email. "It's just emails". I bet they still would moan if I was a surgeon at the same approx. hourly rate. But they never get a bill for the NHS surgeon's time. And they don't think twice about not turning up at a scheduled meeting with the surgeon and not calling in advance (I have long enjoyed one of Rotherham's Northern General top 'Mr' surgeons as a close friend, the stories I could tell!)

That's where and how the disconnect strikes, and it gets reinforced every time they don't pay (or don't actually see a bill) for an ever-better 'free' service.

What more can be done???

Charge a fine per missed appointment (with provisions to fine the third party service provider instead, when the patient has demonstrably informed the NHS of a change in address or other adverse circumstances with enough notice)

Charge drunks in A&E at cost.

Until the above is done, and people start to associate a financial value with NHS services, you ain't getting even started on solving the NHS problems.