'DNAs' and hospital waiting lists

Madam, – Sheila Gorman (February 19th) notes that last year St James’ Hospital had almost 25,000 “DNAs”. As she explains, a “DNA” is someone who did not attend the hospital for their appointment. They did not call to cancel or postpone and so the hospital’s time was lost.

In my own area of Pembroke-Rathmines, St Vincent’s Hospital had 26,878 “DNAs” last year.

Assuming similar figures for hospitals across the country, waiting lists could be cut dramatically by appealing to those who have made medical appointments which they no longer require to cancel their appointment. This would also help to ensure that those most in need of medical attention get it sooner.

In the UK, NHS dentists request a £20 deposit from patients booking an appointment. This is later refunded or discounted from the bill. If the patient does not attend,and fails to cancel in time, the dentist keeps the £20. A similar scheme for our hospitals would either reduce waiting lists by hundreds of thousands or raise millions of euro to provide better services.

Could this be a simple way to improve our own health service for medics and patients alike? – Yours, etc,