THERE are two Southampton surgeries that know only too well why the scandal of missed appointments must be brought to an end.

For the doctors and staff at Harefield and Weston Lane Surgeries have recorded as many as 3,600 missed appointments in just one year – that's 300 a month.

Now the surgeries, in Weston, which together treat 9,500 patients, have thrown their weight behind the Daily Echo's Turn Up or Tell 'Em campaign.

Practice manager Andrea Galea noticed the low cancellation rate, and has started a campaign to educate patients.

She said: “We’re trying to tell people why it’s important not to miss appointments, so we’ve started sending out a letter the day after.

"If the patient receives a third letter, they will then no longer be able to book a routine appointment with us. We’re trying to educate people and since we’ve implemented this there’s been a definite upward trend on cancellations.

"We’re not reprimanding, we’re trying to tell people that the supply and demand is quite different.”

We launched the campaign, now in its second month, after it was revealed the cost to the NHS of missed appointments was £140,000 in Southampton in one month.

Patients in Southampton missed 6,300 in December, while across the UK 61,000 appointments are missed every day.

And with each appointment costing an average of £23, the wasted time is equivalent to a year’s work for 1,300 doctors and costs the NHS £300 million.

Business manager Dave Barclay said: “The team here at Harefield is delighted to support, along with Southampton CCG and practices across the city, ‘The Turn up or Tell ‘Em’ campaign.

"Earlier this year wW We began to promote to our patients that “It’s okay to cancel! We are very encouraged by some early signs, that more people are cancelling appointments and also more people are attending the appointments they have booked.

"We don’t mind our patients cancelling, we understand symptoms improve and circumstances change. We would just like to make sure that if someone cannot attend, they let us know so that we can offer that appointment to another patient.”