Dorking Hospital missed appointments cost NHS over £1 million a year

DORKING · Dorking Hospital in Surrey recorded more than 800 missed or last-minute cancelled appointments in September. Data obtained by BBC Surrey shows 501 appointments were missed entirely and 312 were cancelled by patients with less than 24 hours' notice. NHS outpatient data also shows 1,620 first appointments were not attended at the hospital in the 2025-26 period. Dr Stewart Tomlinson, medical director at Dorking Healthcare, said each missed appointment costs the system about £160. He estimated the monthly loss at Dorking is roughly £120,000, which amounts to over £1 million a year in lost NHS funding.

Tomlinson said his main worry is that patients who miss appointments were often referred by a GP for conditions requiring further medical attention. He told BBC Radio Surrey these patients must then be offered another slot, which lengthens wait times for others. "I completely understand why the public are frustrated when figures like this are highlighted because it has an enormous cost implication," Tomlinson said. "For those people who've been waiting many, many months to be seen, they're frustrated they couldn't be seen earlier."

He cited several reasons appointments might be missed, including transportation issues like late buses or lack of trains. Other factors are missed invitation letters or older patients lacking access to text messages or digital platforms. Tomlinson said the NHS is trying to address the problem with technology such as text reminders and the development of the NHS app. He urged patients who cannot attend to notify the service so the appointment can be switched to a telephone or video call or given to someone else.

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When asked about potentially fining patients for missed appointments, Tomlinson expressed reservations. He noted that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak abandoned a 2022 campaign pledge to impose £10 fines for missed NHS appointments in England, deciding it was "not the right time." Tomlinson said he is a "strong believer" that the NHS should remain free at the point of access. "When people talk about introducing fines, we need to look at if there are ways of making it easier for cancellation or rescheduling," he said.

"The issue is much more complex than just the implications of a fine if you don't appear on the day. What we don't want is to create additional workload for GPs in needing to re-refer," Tomlinson added. Dorking Hospital is a community facility offering outpatient clinics, inpatient care, diagnostics and rehabilitation services. It is managed in partnership with local NHS providers including Dorking Healthcare and Surrey Downs Health and Care.

With files from BBC News and BBC