Tackling Missed Appointments in the NHS

Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services – in the Senedd at 3:11 pm on 6 February 2019.

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Photo of Vaughan Gething Vaughan Gething Labour 3:11, 6 February 2019

Yes, and that is a real challenge. It is partly about efficiency, but it's also, frankly, about making the best use in terms of people's time, and not just money. Some health boards do provide an estimation for the amount that an appointment costs, and most hospitals that I have been in—and I tend to go to a few during the time I spend in the job—do have regular signs showing the cost of missed appointments to the health service. There's plenty of information available for people who use the health service about the reality of the cost. I think the challenge is how we have a more consistent approach about use of things like text reminders, and the place of informing people about the cost of using the health service and, indeed, of not using it at any point in time as well.