Darlington sees 'shocking' increase in missed GP appointments

NHS bosses admitted the amount of people missing appointments was too high

There has been a large increase in the number of missed GP appointments in Darlington, councillors have been told.

NHS figures showed that 3,170 appointments were recorded as "did not attend" (DNA) up to October 2023, up from 2,238 to July.

The data was branded "absolutely shocking" by Darlington Borough councillors, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

But a doctor said the figures were "not as clear cut as people not appearing".

Labour's Neil Johnson told a meeting: "Given Darlington's population, those figures are flabbergasting."

Mr Johnson asked health bosses if repeat offenders who missed appointments were subject to any reprimands.

Dr Sally Stone, who until recently worked at Orchard Court surgery, said the practice did not sanction patients who missed appointments but often sent reminders via text message.

She added: "You have got to be careful because someone could be mentally ill or occasionally they may have been admitted to hospital, so it's not as clear cut as people not appearing."

There are currently 11 practices across the borough for a registered population of more than 112,000.

The quarterly figures also showed 1,901 appointments were missed up to April 2023. However, health bosses said they require context.

Emma Joyeux, commissioning lead of Primary Care at NHS North East and North Cumbria, said some patients book appointments too far in advance and then find they do not need it, or they turn up to urgent care instead.

"DNA appointments are roughly around 5% at the moment and that is too high," Ms Joyeux added.