Patients could be fined for missing NHS appointments, Streeting says

Patients may be fined for missing health appointments in the future, Wes Streeting has suggested.

The Health Secretary said he would be more 'open-minded' to introducing fines if NHS reforms did not cut down the number of no-shows.

Around eight million people fail to turn up to NHS appointments every year, costing the health service £1billion.

While insisting that it was not something he was looking at doing at the moment, Mr Streeting didn't rule out the possibility of charging patients if other measures failed to tackle the issue.

He told Times Radio: 'At this stage it’s not something I’m looking at doing, but once we’ve got the system working effectively, if we still have this problem of missed appointments then I might be more open-minded.

The Labour minister added that he wanted to fix the reasons behind people missing booked appointments at GP surgeries and hospitals.

One of the causes of no-shows is delays in patients receiving notifications in the post, the Telegraph reported. 

The idea of charging patients who fail to show up for appointments was floated by Rishi Sunak in his Conservative leadership bid in 2022.

Patients would have been charged £10 for every no-show under a pledge by the former prime minister, which was scrapped after it received a negative reception.

Mr Streeting also announced on Sunday morning that the upcoming Budget would include a cash injection for NHS Trusts - on the proviso of improved productivity.

The Chancellor's announcement would 'link investment to reform', he told the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg.

He added: 'I think it’s a quid pro quo. It’s my responsibility to give system leaders the tools to do the job, and that’s my responsibility as Secretary of State, but it’s their responsibility to deliver.'