Introduce a refundable deposit for booking NHS appointments
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.
Signatures
26
signatures
Government response threshold (10,000) · 26/10,000
Debate threshold (100,000) · 26/100,000
- 20 FEB 2026Petition opened for signaturesCreated by Yuvraj Jhanjee
Background
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.