More and more patients are not keeping their appointments with their doctors and practice nurses every year, according to a survey conducted by Developing Patient Partnerships.
The poll revealed that over 11 million appointments with the doctors were not kept while 5 million practice nurse appointments were missed in UK last year. The problem is more prevalent in London with the North West of England, and the West Midlands are just behind. The survey was conducted among 329 GP surgeries and most of them said that many problems were caused when the patients miss appointments.
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Meanwhile DPP also added that missing appointments is leading to the NHS losing lots of money. Dr Chaand Nagpaul, GP and DPP Spokesman, said, "People are still missing appointments even when they make them for the same day. Appointments cost the NHS money. Missed appointments are a waste of valuable resources. With the move to offer the public more services, and more expensive services through the GP, the issue of missed appointments is an increasing problem for practices."
Nurses are increasingly getting frustrated with missed appointments according to nurse Anne Baird. "If appointments like these are missed, it's extremely frustrating for nurses, who want to deliver the best possible care to all their patients. Nurses are increasingly managing the long-term care of patients with chronic illness, such as diabetes. Often these patients are given a double appointment for a full review."
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