Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB
Patients failing to attend GP appointments has cost the NHS in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire more than £9.25m in the last year.**
Between October 2024 and September 2025 patients did not attend 308,538 appointments at their GP Practice.*
No-one wants to see appointment slots wasted and patients will not be missing their appointment on purpose, but we can all work together to make the most of the NHS’s resources.
With demand for appointments set to peak as we enter the winter period and GP time becoming even more precious, the NHS is asking patients to always make sure they cancel any appointments they are unable to attend so that it can be allocated to someone else.
As well as being able to cancel or amend appointments by phone, many GP practices also have the facility for patients to cancel on their website or using the NHS app.
If you are struggling to get to an appointment in person, you can speak to your GP practice about changing to a telephone appointment instead, if it’s appropriate.
If you need a face-to-face appointment and are struggling to attend due to a lack of transport, there are a number of local public and community transport options for patients to access, depending on where you live:
Dr Dave Briggs, Executive Director of Outcomes (Medical) at NHS Nottingham & Nottinghamshire said: “The overall number of GP appointments being provided in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire has been increasing, year-on-year, and although missed appointments count for less than 4% of the near 8 million provided over the same period, it is still a significant drain on NHS resources and precious GP practice time.
“There are all kinds of legitimate reasons why people can’t attend appointments or no longer need them. People may feel better, they may have got advice or medication from another healthcare professional such as a pharmacy, they may have work or childcare commitments or a lack of transport.
“But whatever the reason for an appointment no longer being needed, or you can no longer attend, it’s vital you contact your practice to either cancel or rearrange. The practice may be able to help you if there’s an access issue, change it to a telephone appointment or refer you to another healthcare professional.”
NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire is asking people to keep their GP Practice informed about attendance at appointments through a new ‘No Show? Let your GP know’ campaign’.
It’s also reminding patients about the many NHS services available in most local pharmacies, which they can access without needing to see their GP. These include:
Celia Knight from the Linden Medical Group surgery Patients Participation Group in Stapleford, Notts said: “In October, there were 220 missed appointments at the Linden Practice which meant that 220 other people had to wait longer than necessary to get an appointment.
“There will always be a small number of situations where people are unable to cancel, but if everyone else who no longer wanted an appointment contacted the surgery either by phone, online or by calling in, it would make a huge difference to the waiting lists.
“The NHS is under huge pressure at this time of the year. As patients, we need to do everything we can to help. So, please encourage friends, family, neighbours etc to cancel appointments when they no longer need them.”
* Data used is from ‘DNA’ (did not attend) figures in monthly ‘Appointments in General Practice’ statistics, published by NHS England: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/appointments-in-general-practice
** Total cost of missed appointments based on average cost of £30 per GP practice appointment.
