Sir John Robinson House in Mansfield Road, Daybrook, Arnold, where the Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board is based.(Image: Joseph Raynor/ Reach PLC)
All 126 GP surgeries across the county are now facing a new limit on the number of text messages they can send, after previously having an unlimited cap.
Previously, practices across the county had unlimited texts – however, new changes effective from April 1 will place a cap on their spending to encourage practices to use their communication budget more efficiently.
Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board (NNICB) brought in the change after a number of texts racked up an expensive bill for the care board.
In the past few years, SMS messaging has cost the board £495,224 in 2023/2024 and £682,667 in 2024/2025.
NNICB has now set a £480,000 limit for all 126 GP Practices to use to communicate with patients throughout 2026/2027, with practices to individually determine how they will use their limit.
The amount allocated to each practice will be determined by the number of patients it serves and whether it is in a deprived area where patients may be less likely to have access to smartphones or email.
While the changes may not affect some practices and how they distribute their appointment reminders, others have decided to scrap appointment reminder, cancellation, and confirmation texts – however, these practices have stated they plan to continue these communications via email or the NHS app.
It may affect how many texts certain patients receive or the length of the messages themselves to help cut costs.
Caroline Goulding, director of strategic and specialised commissioning at NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, said: “SMS messaging will continue to be a vital method of communication between GP Practices and patients.“From 1 April, NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire will provide up to £480,000 in total funding for our 126 GP Practices to use for SMS messages to patients in 2026/27. How practices decide to use this funding is up to them.“The amount allocated to each practice will depend on the number of patients it has, with additional funding for practices in areas of higher deprivation where patients are less likely to have access to smart phones and/or the NHS app.“We have been working with our practices over the last 18 months to help them adapt to different free or low-cost methods of communicating with patients.
"The free messaging function within the NHS App is a significant development, enabling practices to send messages to patients at no cost to the NHS.
"We encourage patients to use the app, with notifications enabled, whenever possible. Every penny we save in SMS funding means more funding for frontline care is protected.“Currently, practices receive unlimited funding for SMS funding from NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.
"The way that SMS funding is provided to GP practices varies in different parts of the country, including some areas where no funding is provided and others where funding is capped.”
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