THOUSANDS of people are putting their own health at risk by failing to attend specialist appointments recommended by their doctors.
While this can have serious personal implications for patients, it also means that others in need of specialist appointments are waiting longer to be seen.
Mackay Hospital and Health Service (HHS) Chief Executive Susan Gannon is urging people to think twice before skipping an appointment, and to take the step of cancelling if they can’t make it.
“Last year we had 20,204 patients across our health service who failed to attend their specialist appointments,” Ms Gannon said.
“This figure includes those failing to attend at our rural facilities in Proserpine, Bowen and Sarina, Collinsville, Clermont, Dysart and Moranbah, as well as different units in Mackay such as Womens and Childrens and Specialist Outpatients.
“If we narrow it down to just those who failed to attend Mackay Base Hospital’s specialist outpatient department, there were 11,985 missed appointments in 2024, which is an average of 230 appointments every week.”
Missed appointments for 2025 are on track to again total more than 20,000 for the year, with 9,490 appointments missed from 1 January to 31 May.
Gastroenterologist Dr Robert Anderson is a Mackay HHS specialist encouraging people to prioritise their health.
“Appointments are made so that specialists can investigate health concerns, and missing those appointments is a definite health risk,” Dr Anderson said.
“It also means that others waiting on specialist appointments are waiting longer to be seen.
“We want to reduce the amount of time people are waiting for a specialist appointment, so we’re asking the community to help us deliver that care sooner.
“If I look at the number of people who have failed to attend appointments with a gastroenterologist, it’s 246 over the past twelve months (financial year).
“Our message to patients is ‘please attend your appointment. If you can’t attend for various reasons, then ‘Let us know if you’re not going to show’.”
Executive Director Operations Mackay Jenny Farley confirmed that people who miss appointments risk being removed from the waiting list.
“We understand there are good reasons people can’t attend an appointment so we are simply encouraging people to call the hospital, or respond to the SMS messages they receive, so that we can offer that appointment to someone else who is waiting.
“We endeavour to follow up with people who miss their appointments.
“If we do not get a response and people still want the appointment this will mean they need to see their GP for a new referral and commence on the waiting list again,” she said.
The total number of missed appointments across all outpatient services to date this year is 9,490 and the most affected specialties for 2025 (1 January to 31 May) are:
* Paediatric Development – average of 10.2% or 104 appointments a month
* Orthopaedics General – average of 8.1% or 79 appointments a month
* General Surgery – average of 7.2% or 70 appointments a month
* Gynaecology – average of 14% or 69 appointments a month
* Paediatric Medicine – average of 10.5% or 58 appointments a month.
Mackay HHS conducted a survey in 2023 to understand the reasons for missed appointments and many respondents noted that they no longer needed the appointment, had forgotten, or were unable to attend for different reasons.
Mackay HHS sends SMS messages and letters in a bid to remind people about appointments.
“We are always working to reduce our waiting lists and improve our service, and we are appealing to the community to play their role by attending or cancelling appointments,” Ms Farley said.
“Missed appointments cost us all. They are a health risk for the individual who doesn’t attend an appointment, and they mean others are unable to access timely health services through the lack of attendance of others.
“Our message to everyone is ‘Let us know if you’re not going to show’.