MORE than 13,000 hours of doctors' time was wasted by missed appointments across Wrexham and Flintshire in recent years, figures have shown.

Freedom of Information (FOI) data obtained by the Leader shows the number of appointments at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board managed GP practices in both counties for each financial year from 2015/16 date where patients did not attend.

Across that time, 1,375 appointments were not attended in Flintshire, but a staggering 12,138 were not attended in Wrexham.

The surgeries affected saw a combined total of 13,513 hours wasted as a result and the total cost for the waste came to more than £167,000.

A Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board spokesperson said: “Demand for GP appointments is high and each missed appointment is a wasted opportunity for another patient to be seen.

“Having to re-book appointments for patients who did not attend also makes it more difficult for other patients to get to see their GP.

“We know that circumstances mean people will sometimes not be able to attend, or no longer need, their appointment, but they should always let their GP practice know as soon as possible so that appointments can be made available to other patients.”

Geoff Ryall-Harvey, chief officer at the North Wales Community Health Council, shared his views with the Leader.

He said: "If you fail to turn up without notice, that is a lost appointment that could have been used by someone in desperate need of it.

"Certainly the health board has a duty to make appointments available, but patients have a duty to turn up.

"Potentially, waiting times could be reduced by 10 per cent is people either attended or cancelled early enough for the appointment to be re-offered.

"When people don't attend, there is then downtime for the GP and of course there's a financial cost to that.

"We have heard of people booking appointments in advance even when the don' need one.

"It's not common, but it is something we have heard of and it is perhaps a reaction to the difficulty in getting an appointment.

"They should be booked on the basis of need."

Although the Leader's data only covers GP Practices managed by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, Mr Ryall Harvey said he believes the problem of missed appointments is "consistent right across primary care" and non-health board GPs.

He added: "It is a really difficult problem all round. We can't blame any particular part of the system, but everyone has their responsibilities.

"I think there are genuine cases where people forget, or they have genuine reasons.

"Dentists use text messages to remind people. Some GPs do it too, but I think it would be good if everyone did it."