Teesside missed GP appointment pilot saves £10,000
- Published
Liam Jones contacts patients to make sure they can make their appointments and offers them a chance to rebook if not
A pilot scheme to tackle missed GP appointments has saved an NHS trust more than £10,000.
The project sees patients with upcoming appointments contacted to either rebook or offer support to help them attend.
North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust and the Hartlepool health GP federation said the joint scheme had shown "early success".
Since it began on 1 January, there has been a 70% reduction in unplanned missed appointments.
The scheme, which will run for six months, had already saved £10,494, the trust said.
In the 12 months up to June 2022, 14.3 million GP appointments were missed in England.
Each one costs the public purse about £30, external and cumulatively they cost the NHS millions every year.
The problem has been so persistent that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak previously pledged to introduce a £10 charge for each missed consultation, although he later rowed back on the idea.
Social prescribing by health professionals includes referring people to a range of non-clinical services, such as activity groups, debt management advice, employability skills and volunteering.
'Simple solution'
In his role, Liam Jones contacts patients with upcoming appointments in obstetrics, gynaecology and paediatrics.
"It's a simple solution to an issue which impacts all healthcare providers," he said.
"We know some people forget about their appointments or may be facing a change in circumstance which will make it more difficult to get to hospital.
"Just by getting in touch I can remind them about their upcoming appointment, make sure they can get here OK and help change the appointment date if that suits them better".
The trust said Mr Jones's interventions had led to a "significant reduction" in missed appointments.
Out of 213 patients contacted between 1 January and 20 February, 176 appointments went ahead, 19 were proactively cancelled and 18 did not attend.
"Liam's work had ensured patients received the care they needed," said obstetrics and gynaecology consultant Dr Elain Gouk.
"We're more flexible than people think and I would urge any patient with an appointment they no longer need or want to change to get in touch".
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