Missed Appointments
Every year, thousands of GP appointments are missed without notice. At all our surgeries, a significant number of patients regularly fail to attend or notify us that they will be unable to keep their appointments. This not only affects your care but also impacts other patients and the NHS as a whole.
Each missed appointment costs the NHS around £30 to £40. This amounts to nearly £600 million annually—enough to fund thousands of extra nurses and doctors, millions of prescriptions, and additional community health services.
On a local level, available appointments are at a premium, and each missed appointment is time that could have been used for another patient to see a clinician. This can lead to longer wait times for patients hoping to book an appointment with their chosen clinician. With this in mind, we implore patients to contact the surgery as soon as possible if you are unable to attend your appointment.
Whilst the more notice we have, the better, even as little as an hour before your scheduled appointment could be the difference between someone else being seen that day or having to wait weeks to see their chosen clinician.
Having trouble remembering that you had an appointment booked?
Consider setting reminders on your phone or calendar to ensure you don’t forget important dates. If you frequently check your emails, you might also send yourself an email and use the delayed delivery option to have it arrive one or two days before your appointment.
How can I contact my surgery to cancel?
Many people prefer to call their surgery and speak to someone directly, which is often the best option, especially for cancelling appointments at very short notice. However, we understand that getting through on the phone can be challenging at times, and patients are unable to wait in the queue, given the busy lives we all lead. Because of this, all of our surgeries offer quick and easy ways for you to cancel your appointments. Some allow you to cancel online, while others provide the option to cancel via text message.
Please see below for the best ways to contact your surgery to cancel your appointment.
The Atherstone Surgery
- Via phone on 01827 713664
- Via email at atherstone.surgery1@nhs.net
- Cancel an Appointment - The Atherstone Surgery (a quick and easy online form on their website)
- Via Accurx Reminders – The Atherstone Surgery sends out messages to remind patients of upcoming appointments with the option to reply and cancel the appointment if needed. (Please be aware: These messages are currently only sent out to remind about GP appointments. Also, if you have the NHS App these will be received via the App but if you do not these will be received via text message if you have given consent for SMS messaging)
Spring Hill Medical Centre
Station Street Surgery
-
Via phone on 01827 718631
-
Via Accurx Reminders – Station Street Surgery send out text messages to remind patients of upcoming appointments with the option to reply and cancel the appointment if needed.
St. Nicolas Medical Centre
- Via phone on 02476 900030
- Via email at stnicolas.medical@nhs.net
- Via Accurx Reminders – St. Nicolas Medical Centre sends out text messages to remind patients of upcoming appointments with the option to reply and cancel the appointment if needed.
When you attend or cancel an appointment you no longer need, you help ensure that others can access care when they need it, keep services running efficiently, and save valuable NHS resources.
Please help us help you by letting us know when you can’t attend your appointments.