ABOUT 129,000 texts confirming and reminding patients about GP appointments are sent out every month, costing £24,000 a year.
The Barnsley Clinical Commissioning Group - which commissions the town’s health services - has a contract with network provider EE, which has been in place since October 2015 following a handover from NHS England.
Each text costs about one and a half pence and the amount paid per month is based on the number of texts sent. A spokesman for the CCG said this was approximately £2,000 per month across all GP practices, and comes out of the CCG’s budget.
He said the number of texts sent out differs slightly between practices but a text confirmation message is usually sent as soon as an appointment is booked, with a follow-up reminder. This could be for regular appointments, clinics, vaccinations reminders, flu vaccinations and NHS health checks.
Read more in this weeks Barnsley Chronicle
