MISSED appointments throughout the county have cost health trusts more than £5 million, new figures have revealed.

Data from NHS England shows that, between January and June, more than 52,000 people either did not show up for an appointment or arrived too late to be seen at Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (HHFT), Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust (SH) and University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust (UHS).

The news will concern trust chiefs at a time when the NHS is struggling to cope with an increasing demand on resources.

The figures show that in total 13,460 missed appointments cost HHFT around £1.62m and 868 missed sessions cost SH £104,000.

However, the figures were almost double for UHS, where 28,177 people missed appointments, costing around £3.38m.

Dr Caroline Marshall, chief operating officer at UHS, said: “The impact of missed appointments on the running of our services is significant, particularly at a time of great pressure and demand.

“When patients do not attend their appointments and give no warning we are unable to offer them to others, which denies them the opportunity to be seen sooner and extends waiting times – along with the cost implications that brings.

“However, we also have work to do to ensure our administrative processes are as efficient as possible for patients, so it is the responsibility of both sides to work together to help reduce this number.”

A spokesman for UHS pointed out they in a bid to combat missed appointments, they provide reminder calls and texts and have an online cancellation form for patients at uhs.nhs.uk.

Meanwhile HHFT and SH have “concerns” about the impact of missed appointments.

Malcolm Ace, HHFT chief financial officer, said: “Any waste in our hospitals means we can spend less on the care of our patients. As a Trust we already communicate with our patients, highlighting the impact through appointment letters and materials displayed in our hospitals.”