Patients could soon be charged for missing NHS appointments as Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt backs the idea 'in principle'

Missed appointments cost the NHS more than £900 million a year according to Department of Health

Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, said he was open to the idea of charging for missed NHS appointments 'in principle' (BBC)

Patients who miss their NHS appointments could soon be charged after the Health Secretary said he does not have a problem with the idea "in principle".

Jeremy Hunt hinted that the move could follow his announcement yesterday that GP surgeries will tell absent patients how much they cost the NHS every time they fail to turn up to an appointment.

He said it was the "first step" in tackling the significant cost of missed appointments to the NHS, which he said stood at more than £900 million a year.

The NHS will also start telling patients the price of every drug prescribed to them that costs the NHS more than £20 as part of the drive to reduce waste and is designed to help patients complete courses of medicine.

The cost of prescriptions over £20 will be printed on the package to make patients more aware of the actual price (Rex)

Under the plans, drug packets will be marked with a label stating that they have been “funded by the UK taxpayer” along with the total price that the prescription costs the health service.

It follows a study, commissioned by the Government, which found that wasted medicines cost the NHS £300m a year.

Asked whether he backed the idea of charging patients for missed NHS appointments on BBC One's Question Time, Mr Hunt said: "We are very stretched for resources, doctors and nurses work incredibly hard and we're going to have a million more over-70s by the end of this Parliament.

"If we're going to square the circle and have a fantastic NHS, despite all those pressures, we have to take personal responsibility about how we use NHS resources.

"I don't have a problem in principle with charging people for missed appointments, in practical terms it is difficult to do.

"But I have taken a step towards that this week by announcing that when people do miss an appointment they will be told how much that will cost the NHS as a first step."

A Department of Health spokesperson said: “The Health Secretary set out this week that missed NHS appointments cost the service nearly £1 billion – money which could otherwise be funding thousands more doctors and nurses.

“The NHS will remain free at the point of use under this Government, but we want people to be told the cost of missing appointments to encourage everyone to play their part in keeping the NHS sustainable.”