...just so long as it works the other way as well. And GPs and hospitals pay YOU every time an appointment is cancelled. It's only fair, right?
She told ITV's Good Morning Britain that the Government had 'no immediate plans' to impose fines but 'it is not ruled out for the future'.
Ms Caulfield, a former nurse, said there was a 'good argument for it and we are not ruling it out for the future but it is not something that we have got on the table right now'.
Asked if the policy could be in the next Tory manifesto, she replied: 'Potentially, yes.'
That's the strong, decisive Tory government we've come to know and love!
...the idea triggered a backlash from the health sector.
Wait, what? Aren't they always complaining about no-shows?
The British Medical Association said that fines for missed appointments would 'not only undermine the essential trust between doctor and patient (Ed: stop laughing at the back!), but ultimately threaten the fundamental principle that the NHS delivers free care at the point of need, for all'.
But no-shows don't generate any care, do they? And if they don't turn up, maybe they didn't need it...
The NHS Confederation said the bureaucratic costs of the plan 'could well far outweigh the money brought in by the fines'.
The NHS complaining about 'bureaucratic costs' would be laughable, if only I was capable of laughing anymore...