Missed Essex GP appointments cost NHS £5.9m in 12 months

The North & South Essex Local Medical Committees says the figures are "staggering"

Missed GP appointments cost the NHS in Essex about £5.9m in the space of a year, according to official data.

More than 363,000 were not attended between October 2022 and September 2023 - almost 1,400 every working day.

The data, produced by the NHS and compiled by the BBC, showed a 4.4% increase on the previous 12 months.

The North & South Essex Local Medical Committees (LMC) said the figures were "staggering" and "eye-watering", but not unique to the county.

The data includes appointments with a GP, whether face-to-face or remotely, as well as appointments with other health professionals working within a surgery such as a district nurse.

Health impact

The LMC said each nine-minute GP appointment costs the NHS about £41, and each appointment with other healthcare professionals costs roughly £8 for the same time, based on research by the University of Kent and University of York.

"The effect that missed GP appointments have on the health system is huge," said Dr Vaiyapuri Raja, deputy chief executive of the North & South Essex LMC.

"General Practice is the bedrock of the NHS and missing appointments… can potentially lead to worsening of health conditions and have a knock-on effect in other parts of the health system, like hospital care."

Dr Raja said the issue was "compounded" in Essex due to very high levels of deprivation in some areas, a low GP-patient ratio and increased demand.

"It is not just the financial loss that we should be worried about. An equal number of patients could have benefitted from these appointments if made available in a timely manner," he added.

Missed GP appointments placed extra pressure on hospitals, said Dr Raja.

Essex's GP services are covered by three Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) which commission services - Mid and South Essex, Hertfordshire and West Essex, and Suffolk and North East Essex.

The figures cover the whole of Mid and South Essex, and the Essex areas of the other two ICBs.

A spokesperson for the Mid and South Essex ICB said: "The knock-on effect of someone missing their appointment is that some patients who cannot see their GP may choose to go to A&E instead and this puts pressure on the hospitals."

Each GP appointment costs £41, according to research

The Hertfordshire and West Essex ICB said it was "working closely" with GP practices to reduce the number of missed appointments, and pointed out that patients could cancel online.

A spokesman for the Suffolk and North East Essex ICB also urged patients to do "your very best" to cancel in advance.

Jatinder Garcha, director of primary care and public health for the East of England, added: "If you can't make your scheduled appointment, or no longer think a consultation is needed, please contact your GP surgery as soon as you can, so someone else can benefit from the freed-up appointment."

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