I really hope Christian Vassie’s suggestion to fine people for missed appointments is not any party’s policy (‘What if no-shows were fined £5-£10, Letters, June 15)?’

There are many instances of appointment letters being wrongly addressed or not sent. Many missed appointments are because the person is unwell on the day. Getting through to the surgery or hospital is too often a nightmare.

I have personal experience of missing a flu jab because I had a fever and not getting through to the surgery reception until after the appointment time. That is still on my records as a missed appointment, because changing the record is low priority.

Patients with mental health problems are often not sympathetically dealt with and they need encouragement to attend appointments, not a threat to their already-inadequate support.

Imagine the time and cost of administering these fines if you were actually to check on which missed appointments were legitimate or not?

Because patients are often waiting anyway, most missed appointments just reduce the length of the queue. The NHS needs both additional resources and much better quality of management to reduce its serious inefficiency.

John Reed, Willow Grove, York