PROPOSALS to fine patients who fail to attend hospital and GP appointments are being discussed.
Their non-show locally is costing millions - money which is badly needed to run daily services at the city's hospitals.
But a leading Derbyshire doctor has said it should be a "last-resort" option for the NHS – as it could cost the system more to actually collect the cash.
Missed appointments have cost Derby's hospitals about £3.7 million in the past year – with more than 42,000 people failing to cancel them between 2012 and 2013.
Hospital bosses said this equated to about 155 every working day.
And John Grenville, doctor and secretary of the Derbyshire Local Medical Committee, said about 200 appointments were also being missed each week in the county's GP surgeries.
But he said it would be a "big step to take" to financially penalise those who failed to turn up for their appointments – an idea which had been touted in England and is being suggested in Scotland. DO YOU THINK PATIENTS SHOULD BE FINED FOR MISSING APPOINTMENTS? HAVE YOUR SAY IN OUR POLL, RIGHT.
Dr Grenville said this was because it would be difficult to determine whether or not people had reasonable excuses for missing their appointment.
And he said the costs of actually collecting the money could be higher than any amount re-couped.
He said: "This is a serious problem and it has been something we've been wondering for a long time how to resolve it – because we need to crack down on it.
"I wish I could say why some people do it but I just don't know. One possibility is that, if people find it difficult to book an appointment, they do it days in advance and then they get better – so don't turn up.
"But there are several problems with charging for missed appointments – even though it's unlikely it would be imposed as a source of revenue.
"And the main argument would be: 'What makes an excuse valid or not?'
"Oversleeping is not acceptable but your car breaking down on the way to an appointment and you don't have your phone on you would be."
Every missed appointment costs the trust about £86, because it is not paid if the patient does not turn up.
Between 2011 and 2012, 41,853 patients did not turn up for hospital appointments – about 6% of appointments booked.
And this has increased to 42,217 between 2012-2013, with outpatients appointments attended over that period rising from 640,581 to 654,788.
Outpatient appointments are where people see a consultant, rather than have diagnostic tests such as electrocardiograms.
Last year, they introduced a system for patients to cancel appointments online, to try to cut the "time wasted and money lost" when they fail to attend.
And Mo Hussain, associate director for business development at Derby's hospitals – which run the Royal Derby and London Road Community Hospitals – said the trust's missed appointment rates were the lowest in the East Midlands.
He said: "About five years ago, we had a lot of missed appointments and they were something in excess of 10%, so we have made real improvements.
"But we continue to work on how we can reduce it further – with methods such as a text reminder service and interactive voice messaging."
And Annabel Shaw, project manager for planned care, said: "We are always making sure we are calling back the right patients – the ones who actually need to be seen.
"But our message is to always let us know if you cannot make an appointment as soon as possible – so we can get another patient in."
People can cancel and change their hospital appointments at: http://www.derbyhospitals.nhs.uk/contact-us/cancel-or-change-your-clinic/
