1 in 20 Lancashire Patients Not Attending GP Appointments in 2023

Latest data shows nearly 1 in 20 patients are skipping their GP appointments in Lancashire and South Cumbria in 2023, placing the area in 10th place for missed appointments this year.

With National Self Care Week on 13 to 19 November 2023, researchers at medical negligence solicitors, Minton Morrill, have scrutinised NHS GP appointment statistics in 2023 to see how the picture looks for NHS staff and patient care this year.

The results showed that over 1 in 25 GP appointments are unattended by patients across England overall. What's more, the NHS England locations with the highest patient non-attendance rate were:

North East London, 6.60%

Birmingham and Solihull, 6.26%

South East London, 6.14%

Greater Manchester, 6.04%

Black Country, 6.00%

North Central London, 6.00%

South West London, 5.51%

Frimley, 5.40%

Cheshire and Merseyside, 5.08%

Lancashire and South Cumbria, 4.81%

In comparison, Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire had a far lower percentage of missed appointments, at only 3.00%.

Guy Pomphrey, Partner and Clinical Negligence Solicitor at Minton Morrill, said: “The data is concerning, and demonstrates a real lack of understanding as to how this behaviour impacts our National Health Service. Of course, government funding and the fallout from COVID-19 play a huge part in patient wait times and understaffing issues. However, we cannot ignore the obligation of our general public, who could do their due diligence and cancel appointments within the relevant timeframe.

“Not doing so not only wastes vital NHS time and resources during a time when they are understaffed and struggling, it could impact the individual, who may see their potentially dangerous ailment ignored or missed by a professional. Such a late diagnosis could mean the difference between curing a disease or a terminal diagnosis.”