Shameful levels of missed appointments DMC

[worldwiser]

I know there's a huge amount of grief on this forum to do with service at DMC. But as we were leaving the surgery today we noticed a sign saying there are 50 missed appointments a week. FIFTY. I'm absolutely stunned. A poor mother with a young daughter with a hole in the heart was at her wits' end in reception trying to get seen and there are 50 people a week who could have given her their slot if they'd had the basic humanity to make a phone call. The NHS is far from perfect but when such a precious resource is treated with such disrespect I say shame on all who do so.

[Jeremy]

Not turning up to an appointment without notice is certainly selfish.

But on the other hand, it's not really surprising with one month waiting lists.

Perhaps SMS appointment reminders might help?

[PeckhamRose]

Indeed like they do at Kings College Hospital.

[alachlan]

That might sound like a lot of missed appointments in absolute terms, but lets say there are 6 doctors/nurses and 10 mins allocated per appointment, open 8-6 every day. This is 1800 appointments a week, so <3% no show rate. That may be high or low compared with other practices, and the numbers may not be precise, but it's not a lot. I suspect that if people could get through on the phone they might find it easier to give notice of cancellation.

[midivydale]

I hope the mother with her daughtee got seen today.

[Jeremy]

That's another good point alachlan. If you can't even get through on the phone, how can people be expected to cancel?

SMS reminders, with a "reply CANCEL" option might be a good idea (surely can't be that complex to set up?)