Missed appointments could be given to other patients on the waiting list
Image via canvaThousands of public patients are failing to show up at hospital appointments.
More than 40,000 people were "no shows" at hospital outpatient clinics every month - in the first six months of this year.
Figures were published in the Irish Independent.
Dublin hospitals have the highest number of non-attendance each month:
- 3,446 failing to show for appointments in the Mater
- 3,303 in St James’s
- and 3,050 in Beaumont in June.
Stephen McMahon, from the Irish Patients' Association, says missed appointments could be given to other patients on the waiting list.
"Clearly, such a non-attendance is a cause of concern in so far as these appointments have been given and could be used by another patient who has been waiting for anything from 18 months to 2 years or even longer to see a consultant for the first time."
