MEMBERS of the public are being urged to cancel any medical appointments they know they won't be able to attend, in order to allow others to make use of them. Clwyd South MS Ken Skates spoke out last week after learning that at least 13,000 slots were missed at surgeries across his constituency between April 2023 and March this year. But the problem isn't limited to Clwyd South - it is happening right across North Wales and the consequences are manifold.
Wrexham GP Peter Saul said: "Every day we have . "It has always been an issue. "We have more ways of booking appointments now; not just phoning up the reception, but lots of practices have online booking systems.
"Because you're not having that human contact, it's almost easier to forget or disregard an online booking. "Maybe it makes it psychologically easier if it was booked that way. "I think the idea of the doctor's time being wasted is perhaps overstated.
"When someone doesn't turn up, we're not just sitting there, reading the news or thinking about who won the football. "There are other things we generally try and spend our time doing which are important such as going through results and checking reports. "But for people who can't get an appointment to see us, it does have an .
"We get calls every day from people who want appointments, so even if it's 30 minutes beforehand that you call in and say sorry, I can't make it - often we can get someone for that slot. "My message to patients isn't so much that you're wasting d.
