PATIENTS have hit back at health bosses over the cost of missed appointments in Hampshire, saying hospital booking systems are to blame.

This week the Daily Echo revealed how missed hospital and GP appointments cost Hampshire's NHS an estimated £11m a year.

The figures, released by the government, showed how 75,000 appointments had been missed in the county last year.

Blame However, patients are claiming the results are not a true reflection and say the blame should lie with blundering bureaucrats who have sent them letters on the day of an appointment or booked them in for unnecessary clinics.

Some have also said they have been unable to get through on the phone to cancel appointments.

As reported, health chiefs say many patients are simply forgetting to turn up, or not bothering to cancel if they feel better.

Now they are putting in place a number of plans aimed at tackling no-shows.

Southampton General Hospital and the Royal Hants County Hospital are considering a text message system to remind patients of appointments and some already get a phonecall the day before their appointment.

Simon Jupp, director of operations at Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "We are not aware of any computer system failures that might cause patients difficulty in rescheduling appointments."

New booking systems have been introduced in Southampton GP surgeries which would help arrange appointments at a time that suits the patient.

Dismissed However, health chiefs have largely dismissed the idea of setting up a call centre to remind patients of appointments, saying money lost through no-shows is in time, staff costs and overheads, and could not be reinvested elsewhere.

David Paynton, director of community care at Southampton City Primary Care Trust said: "The money wasted occurs in the form of staff overheads and running costs so it is not a question of simply collecting it and channelling it into a fund which could tackle the problem."

Union chiefs saying making the time between booking the appointment and attending the clinic shorter might help.

Mandy Weldon, secretary of Unison's Southampton health branch said: "A large amount of missed appointments will be those made many months or possibly even a year in advance such as in the case of a cancer patient who needs a yearly check-up."

A spokesman for the South West Hampshire Primary Care Trust alliance said it was working to make sure there was no longer than three months between booking and the appointment itself.