The equivalent of 48 GP appointments per day were missed between April 2021 to March 2022.
According to Manx Care, this financial year is appearing to show similar results and has said a number of patients are experiencing difficulties getting an appointment with their GP.
This data has been provided by all 11 practices across the island but is also a problem in the UK.
It’s a result of recruitment issues and high vacancy factors amongst GPs and practice nurses, the number of people living longer with long-term conditions, and the large number of patients failing to attend their booked appointments.
Manx Care said: ‘This is a huge concern to our surgeries – it is seriously impacting their services, and is a waste of clinical time and money.
‘This in turn affects other patients who then have to wait longer for appointments.’
The total number of patient ‘did not attends’ (DNAs) from April 2021 to March 2022 was 12,444.
The cost of this to Manx Care was about £472,872 (based on £38 average cost for each GP appointment – in line with the NHS England/Kings Fund estimation on cost of a nine-minute appointment).
The highest number of recorded DNAs in one surgery was 499 in March 2022.
Manx Care explained that the pattern of high DNA numbers appears to be continuing through 2022-23, with 7,332 appointments already missed between April and September 2022.
There are a number of impacts of DNAs, but ‘of particular concern’ is that the overall patient wait to see a GP or nurse is extended, ‘which could result in exacerbation of symptoms’.
This also results in patients going to other services provided by Manx Care instead, for example the MEDS out of hours GP service or the emergency department at Noble’s Hospital, which in turn increases pressure on those services and exacerbates the length of wait to be seen there.
This comes after Manx Care asked members of the public to ‘choose well’ over the weekend when it came to seeking health and care support.
Noble’s Hospital was operating under ‘extreme pressure’, which meant the health service had to urge people to consider attending Ramsey Cottage Hospital’s Minor Injuries and Illnesses Unit.
Dr John Snelling, Manx Care’s associate director of primary care, said: ‘We encourage patients to consider the impact of booking an appointment with their GP surgery and then not turning up.
‘Our telephone lines are extremely busy and so, where possible, please help us by cancelling your appointment via the Patient Access app. Alternatively, please email, text (where available) or ring the practice.
‘We absolutely acknowledge and accept that there will be circumstances whereby people cannot attend an appointment due to a last-minute emergency, but this will not be the case for everyone.
‘If the 48 appointments missed every working day could be filled by other patients waiting to see their GP, this would have a real impact across the board.’
Health Minister Lawrie Hooper told the House of Keys last week that Manx Care would be publishing GP practices’ DNA data each month going forward.
He added that 7,222 appointments were missed during the first six months of this year.
Mr Hooper was asked during the sitting if the department was planning to charge for GP appointments in response to these figures, to which he assured it would not.
Information on how to cancel an appointment is on the Manx Care website or you can email or call your local surgery.
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