The money wasted could have funded 1m more cataract operations or 250,000 hip replacements, says chief nursing officerAs the NHS struggles with budget cuts, soaring demand and staff shortages, almost £1bn is being wasted annually by patients missing appointments, figures reveal. Data released by NHS Digital revealed that in 2016/17 almost 8m hospital outpatient appointments were missed due to patients not attending, compared with 7.5m in 2015/16. Could shared medical appointments help the NHS and patients? Read moreHowever, steps were taken to inform patients of the cost to the NHS of missing their appointments after a study by Imperial College London showed that fewer appointments would be missed if people were given this information. Simon Stevens, the head of NHS England, recently said its £110bn budget is not enough and called for an increase in funding.

Source: The Guardian January 02, 2018 00:45 UTC