Report on ‘did not attend’ appointments at GP surgeries in Goldthorpe Thurnscoe and Bolton upon Dearne

In November 2015 an issue was brought to Healthwatch Barnsley attention by Councillor Gollick, on behalf of people living in the Dearne. The issue was that people were struggling to access their general practice. Healthwatch Barnsley reported on this issue in 2016. This report is a continuation of our outreach and engagement work in the Dearne area.

In order to gather more information and to speak to people living in the Dearne area, Healthwatch Barnsley arranged two engagement events at Goldthorpe and Thurnscoe Library. These events were publicised in the local press and via social media. As a result of this work, Healthwatch Barnsley spoke to a total of 42 people and found that the issue of people being able to get an appointment at their practice was a common theme.

From this research Healthwatch Barnsley can clearly identify a real problem in the Dearne with patients not attending booked appointments at their GP Surgery. Why patients are failing to attend is very important. Are we experiencing a growing culture that ‘it’s free so it doesn’t matter’? Do people’s lifestyles mean they are just too busy to commit? In some cases there are clear barriers that lead to non-attendance such as transportation or caring responsibilities. Whatever the reason, the concern is not just the cost to our health service or the fact that patients are experiencing problems getting an appointment with their GP. The most important factor must be that patient safety is at risk if they cannot get an appointment when things are going wrong with their health. Healthwatch Barnsley recognise that DNA only forms one part of patient access issues. The number of GPs retiring and current lack of replacement trained medical staff available is a national issue. Better lifestyles and access to services has resulted in more people living longer, many with long term health conditions leading to increase demand on services. Technology has also opened up opportunities to book online appointments which is open to abuse (some examples were highlighted to us that patients were booking multiple appointments and would select only the most convenient to them).