Half of Britons support a £10 fine for missed NHS appointments
A quarter of those who have avoided making a general practice appointment in the last year say this is because they found it too difficult
- Fines for missing appointments is the most popular way of those asked about among Britons to secure additional funding to maintain the NHS, while around 7 in 10 are opposed to increasing prescription charges and charges for GP visits
- Nearly a quarter say they have avoided making a GP appointment in the past 12 months because they found it too difficult
- Three-quarters would be willing to see their GP virtually, including 59% who are happy to do this for advice on a minor ailment and 54% for advice on an ongoing problem or condition
As the NHS becomes the most mentioned issue facing the country in our January Issues Index, we see mixed levels of support for different suggested measures to secure additional funding to maintain the health service. Support is highest for charging people who miss appointments. Around half (51%) support a £10 fine for missed appointments (such as GPs or hospital appointments) while a third (34%) are opposed to the idea.
Support is much lower for other propositions. Only 12% support increasing prescription charges from £9.35 to £15 while 7 in 10 are opposed (72%). Similarly, 15% support being charged a £10 fee for a visit to the GP, 71% are against.
The British public aged 18 to 75 are generally open to video consultations, although more so in some scenarios than others. Overall, more than 3 in 4 say they would be willing to see their own GP virtually in at least one of the circumstances given. More specifically, 59% would be willing to talk online to their GP for advice on a minor ailment and 54% would do so for advice on an ongoing condition or problem. There is less willingness to speak virtually regarding immediate or emergency medical advice (22%). Just under 1 in 5 say they would not be willing to speak to a GP virtually in any of these circumstances (18%).
Among those who are willing to see a GP virtually, 88% would be willing to see a GP who they didn’t already know for at least one of the circumstances given. Around 2 in 3 (68%) would be willing to do so for a minor ailment, decreasing to half (50%) who would be willing to do so for an ongoing condition and a quarter (25%) for emergency medical advice.
Looking back over the last year, just under half of Britons say they have avoided making a general practice appointment (45%). This includes around a quarter (23%) who say this is because they found it too difficult while 13% say they were worried about being a burden on the NHS and 11% say they didn’t have time. One in 10 (9%) say they were worried about the risk of catching Covid. More than a third (35%) say they have not avoided making a GP appointment in the last 12 months.
Younger Britons, as well as those from ethnic minority backgrounds are most likely to have avoided making an appointment with their GP in the past year: 60% of 18-34 year olds say they have done this while 67% of those from ethnic minority backgrounds say the same. These findings are linked to some extent as participants from ethnic minority backgrounds tend to be younger.
Kate Duxbury, at Ipsos, said:
The NHS has faced a challenging winter and this has been feeding through to the public consciousness. While we know from other research that the public think the NHS needs more funding, there is limited support for raising funds to maintain the NHS by increasing prescription charges or charging a £10 fee to see a GP – charging for missed appointments is more supported, though still only by half.
Technical note:
- Ipsos interviewed a representative quota sample of 1,083 adults aged 18-75 in Great Britain. Interviews took place on the online Omnibus 3rd-4th February 2023. Data has been weighted to the known offline population proportions. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.
