Wigan hospital trust loses £3.5m to missed appointments

New figures have revealed Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS trust (WWL) lost almost £3.5 million in the 12 months to September 2018.

Data from NHS England shows that 28,405 people either did not show up for an outpatient appointment at the trust, or arrived too late to be seen.

With the NHS struggling for funds amid budget cuts and increased demand, the British Medical Association said it was crucial appointments are not wasted while the health service is “under incredible stress”.

The average outpatient appointment costs the NHS £120, according to the latest resources cost data.

This means that the 28,405 missed sessions cost Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust (WWL) around £3.41 million.

Dr Robert Harwood, chairman of the BMA’s consultant committee, said: “It is important that no appointments are wasted at a time when the NHS is under incredible stress.

“We should not stigmatise patients who may for legitimate reasons be unable to attend.

“However, we do need the NHS to emphasise through clear publicity to the public that, given the current unprecedented pressure, patients should make every possible effort to rearrange their appointment so that another person is able to receive treatment in their place.”

At WWL, out of the 327,370 outpatient appointments, 9,162 people failed to make their first appointment. A further 19,243 did not appear for a subsequent meeting.

Niall Dickson, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents organisations across the healthcare sector, said: “We need to support patients to make sure they can attend appointments, and be able to easily cancel or reschedule them.

“We need to make sure we are not asking patients to attend unnecessary appointments and we welcome the NHS Plan proposal to cut face-to-face outpatient appointments by one third over the next five years.

“Text reminders and a host of other measures and more technology will make life easier both for patients and the service, but as patients we all need to do our bit.”

Across England’s health providers, more than 5.8 million appointments were missed in the year to September 2018, which cost the NHS around £700 million.

Most people who are offered appointments do attend those appointments, which helps to keep waiting times down for everyone.

A WWL spokesman said: “We work with patients to make sure appointments are convenient for them by providing appointment letters in large print, Braille, alternative languages or audio format and speaking directly to patients to agree mutually convenient appointment dates and time.

“Once an appointment is made we have a text reminder service and automated voice reminder service which reminds patients of their appointment around seven to 10 days before they are due to attend.

“However, for the small number of people who can’t attend their appointment it is very easy to cancel or rearrange an appointment by calling the WWL booking service on 0300 555 4567.

“Alternatively, patients can visit the WWL website (www.wwl.nhs.uk), click the ‘Rearrange an Appointment’ link on the home page and enter details of the appointment.”