TV GP Dr Sarah Jarvis, a regular on Good Morning Britain, says patients should be fined £10 if they miss an appointment. 40,000 people per day in England fail to show up to their appointments and Dr Jarvis, a clinical director, is calling for £10 fines.
She said: "GP appointments are very precious because there aren’t enough of us. If people choose to make an appointment and then not turn up, that’s an appointment that could have gone to somebody else."
Dr Jarvis added: "I’ve always been vehemently against the idea of fining people for using the NHS, but I think that’s very different to fining people for abusing the NHS.
“If you have an appointment and you suddenly find at short notice that you can’t make it, everybody has mobile phones. How difficult would it be to send a message or drop the practice a note online?"
She continued: “The problem we’ve got is the practicalities. Who’s going to collect the fine? You can’t expect receptionists to do it.”
