HOURS of GP appointment time is being lost every day because patients are failing to attend.

On one day last week, more than four hours worth of appointments were missed at one practice in Darlington– adding to the increased pressure GPs are under due to rising demand for services.

Sally Hutchinson, the practice manager for Neasham Road Surgery, in Darlington, said at least two hours was being wasted every single day because of people failing to attend their appointments.

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She said: “The other day we lost four hours which was a particularly bad day but even today we’ve lost more than three hours.

“We’re getting a lot of flack on social media because patients say they can’t get appointments.

“Demand has gone through the roof – we are offering the same if not more as pre-Covid.

“When we get people struggling to get appointments and then we find four hours worth of appointments haven’t been used it’s frustrating.

“Some of those appointments are 30 minutes long. If someone doesn’t attend that’s half an hour where we could have had three patients in for blood tests.”

On Tuesday, 11 appointments were missed at the practice, she said, which added up to more than three hours of wasted time.

Darlington Primary Care Network (PCN) is urging anyone who cannot attend an appointment to cancel by phoning or emailing.

Ms Hutchinson added: “This isn’t just my practice - it’s happening across the GPs in Darlington.

“I think it has got worse. It’s partly to do with patients isolating but they don’t think to call and cancel.

“I think the message I want to give get across on behalf of all of the practices in Darlington is that we are under immense pressure. We are not making excuses but we are under pressure.

“For every patient that gets an appointment there are two, three, four who want one. Even if you cancel on the morning we will always be able to fill it. There is always someone who can take it.”

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