As winter approaches pressure on the NHS is increasing, and you can help
The public has been asked to play its part in taking the pressure off the NHS this winter(Image: Getty)
The NHS in Nottinghamshire has issued a plea to patients and the public after missed GP appointments cost the health service more than £9.25m in the past year.
NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB says that, between October 2024 and September 2025, patients failed to show up to 308,538 appointments at their local GP.
The body responsible for delivering healthcare across the city and county stated that when patients fail to show up, it creates unnecessary expenses and also means that time that could be used to see other patients is wasted.
As winter approaches, the NHS has asked patients to cancel appointments in advance if they are unable to attend.
Dr Dave Briggs, executive director of outcomes, said: “The overall number of GP appointments being provided in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire has been increasing, year-on-year, and although missed appointments count for less than 4% of the near 8 million provided over the same period, it is still a significant drain on NHS resources and precious GP practice time.
“There are all kinds of legitimate reasons why people can’t attend appointments or no longer need them. People may feel better, they may have got advice or medication from another healthcare professional such as a pharmacy, they may have work or childcare commitments or a lack of transport.
“But whatever the reason for an appointment no longer being needed, or you can no longer attend, it’s vital you contact your practice to either cancel or rearrange.
“The practice may be able to help you if there’s an access issue, change it to a telephone appointment or refer you to another healthcare professional.”
The NHS says appointments can be cancelled or rearranged through a phone call to the GP, whilst some surgeries offer telephone appointments if patients are struggling to make it in person.
Many services can now be accessed at the pharmacist rather than attending the GP, such as blood pressure checks for people over 40 and free contraception pills.
Celia Knight, at the Linden Medical Group surgery in Stapleford, added: “In October, there were 220 missed appointments at the Linden Practice, which meant that 220 other people had to wait longer than necessary to get an appointment.
“There will always be a small number of situations where people are unable to cancel, but if everyone else who no longer wanted an appointment contacted the surgery either by phone, online or by calling in, it would make a huge difference to the waiting lists.
“The NHS is under huge pressure at this time of the year. As patients, we need to do everything we can to help. So, please encourage friends, family, neighbours to cancel appointments when they no longer need them”.