Why British Summer Time has an unexpected impact on the NHS

Negative effect of British Summer Time on NHS
British Summer Time is having an unexpectedly negative and costly impact for the NHS  Credit: PA

When the clocks go forward this weekend it will bring not only lighter evenings, but a general sense of wellbeing and fewer accidents on the roads.

Yet researchers have discovered British Summer Time is having an unexpectedly negative and costly impact for the NHS.

Last week, psychologists at Lancaster and York Universities revealed that when the clocks go forward more people miss their hospital appointments.

In fact, patients are five per cent more likely to fail to turn up than on a usual week. Although the figure may seem small, there are around 150,000 missed NHS appointments each week, so even a small increase could see an extra 1,000 missed appointments.

Lead author Dr David Ellis said:...

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