A NEW report shows that around 32,000 GP appointments were missed across Essex in a single month, a statistic that was described as a huge amount of resource being 'wasted'.

And NHS bosses warned the no-shows deprived other patients of vital care.

The figure, recorded in June, was revealed in a report on GP access and primary care capacity presented to Southend Council's Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Chief of staff James Halden described the number of missed appointments as a significant waste of NHS resources.

He told councillors: "This is a huge amount of resource that could be used to support people."

Liberal Democrat councillor Dave Poulton asked what action was being taken to tackle the problem and encourage patients to cancel appointments they no longer needed.

William Guy, director of primary care at NHS Essex, said technology was being used to make cancelling appointments easier and to remind patients ahead of their booking.

He said: "There are a number of steps being taken and partly these are technology solutions.

"Actually prompting people to say you've got an appointment coming up do you still need it and if they don't need it making it easier to cancel that appointment; not having to go through telephone lines to cancel because I think that sometimes puts people off trying to cancel."

While stressing the overwhelming majority of patients attended their appointments, Mr Guy said missed bookings could have a major impact, particularly when they involved longer consultations or specialist nurses.

He said unused appointment slots represented "lost capacity and lost opportunity", leaving clinicians unable to see other patients and forcing those who missed appointments to rebook at a later date.

"They've kind of lost the consulting room during that period so it's a real disappointment when it does happen," he said.

"We will continue to push those messages."

The report also highlighted growing pressure on GP services, with Essex practices delivering 11.552 million appointments in 2025/26, up from 11.387 million the previous year.

NHS leaders said demand for appointments has continued to rise every year since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Despite the increasing workload, patient satisfaction with GP services in Essex improved to 74 per cent in the 2026 GP Patient Survey. However, this remained below the national average of 77 per cent.