Surgery complains of wasted hours
A doctors’ surgery is losing the equivalent of three GP days and three nurse days every month because patients are failing to turn up for appointments.
Mount Farm Surgery, on Moreton Hall, has started publicising the number of hours it loses, both on an A-frame board inside the practice and in its newsletter.
Peter Knights, the surgery’s practice manager and business partner, said: “The wastage is a problem, especially when we’re desperately trying to create more appointments.”
He said the surgery had been trying to ‘get to grips’ with the problem for the last two years but was now losing the equivalent of three GP and three nurse days each month.
“When you consider the NHS resources going to waste, that’s quite shocking really,” he said.
A text reminder system was introduced around 12 months ago and staff have begun contacting frequent offenders.
“The vast majority of these appointments are just callously wasted, which is a great shame,” said Mr Knights.
He added: “There are always some genuine reasons why people don’t turn up. We’re only asking, if people can’t make them, they allow us to give them to someone else.”
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Weather for Bury St Edmunds
Saturday 25 May 2013
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