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Thursday 29 October 2026
The Daily Patriot
The Daily Patriot
British News · Patriotic Voice
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Economy

NHS Trust Launches Waiting List 'Loyalty Card', Tenth Appointment Free

Patients who collect enough stamps before the card expires will be entitled to a free follow-up appointment, subject to a separate waiting list.
By Our Health Correspondent · 18 August 2026 · Economy
An NHS Outpatient Loyalty Card with six of ten appointment stamps filled in, propped on a waiting-room chair next to a bottle of Pepsi and a packet of Walkers crisps.

An NHS trust has begun issuing patients on its outpatient waiting list with a laminated loyalty card, sponsored by the soft drinks brand Pepsi, awarding one stamp for every missed target. Five stamps earns a family-sized share bag of Walkers crisps; ten unlocks a free follow-up consultation, plus a two-litre bottle of full-sugar Pepsi “as a thank you for sticking with us.” A trust spokesperson described the sponsorship as “a sensible way to fund the scheme at no cost to the taxpayer”.

Gerald, of Berkshire, said he had written to his MP after his card expired one stamp short of the free appointment, having waited eleven months for what he understood to be a routine cardiology referral. “I’m not against a loyalty scheme in principle,” he wrote. “I collect stamps at the car wash but to be honest I didn’t expect a heart referral to end with two litres of cola” He said the crisps had been “very nice” but he wasn’t sure they were what the consultant had in mind.

A health campaign group noted that the scheme’s most frequent card-holders were disproportionately drawn from the trust’s own cardiology and diabetes clinics, a pattern the trust described as “coincidental” and “not something we currently track.” The trust confirmed a renewal of the sponsorship deal was already under discussion, citing “strong demand” and a further product range expected in the new year.

A new analysis by the Albion Policy Foundation, Tufton Street, found the average patient now earns enough stamps for two free appointments and several kilograms of confectionery before receiving their first real one, a figure the Foundation called “stark,” while adding it had not been able to determine whether any patient had actually survived long enough to redeem either.

The trust said it remained committed to reducing waiting times and confirmed the free tenth appointment was “extremely popular,” with current bookings running approximately six months out.

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