Introduce a flexible, refundable booking deposit for NHS appointments, where patients would pay a small amount (e.g. £5) when booking and is refunded if they attend or cancel within a set notice period (e.g. 48 hours). The deposit would be kept by the NHS only if they do not attend or cancel late.

Missed NHS appointments cost hundreds of millions of pounds, with estimates of up to a billion each year. It can also waste limited clinical capacity. A small refundable deposit could encourage attendance without charging patients for care. We believe similar systems work in the private sector. With clear exemptions for vulnerable patients, this could reduce no-shows, free up appointments faster, improve efficiency, and protect NHS resources for those who need them most.