ANOTHER Hampshire MP has launched a rallying call for families to ease the NHS log-jam caused by thousands of patients failing to turn up for GP appointments every month in Southampton.

Southampton Test MP Alan Whitehead says surgeries in his constituency are “increasingly stretched” at some of the busiest times of the year. Now he is supporting the Daily Echo’s new Turn Up or Tell ‘Em campaign exposing the impact of how those wasting time and resources by failing to show up robs other sick and unwell patients of an opportunity to see a doctor or nurse and causes extra workloads for already pressured staff.

The campaign was launched after we revealed how 6,300 missed appointments were recorded in Southampton in December 2015 alone – costing the health service a staggering £140,000. The shocking statistics were revealed in a survey carried out by NHS Southampton City Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) which manages the NHS money spent in the city.

On average each appointment costs £23, depending on whether GPs or practice nurses are seen and what treatments are administered.

Across the country 61,000 appointments are lost every day by patients not bothering to show up.

The wasted time is equivalent to a year’s work for 1,300 doctors and costs the NHS more than £300 million.

It comes at a time when the health service is struggling with a funding crisis and a shortage in GPs due to doctors retiring and leaving the service faster than they can recruit.

Mr Whitehead said: “I know that it can be difficult for people to get a GP appointment at the moment with GP surgeries becoming increasingly stretched.

"This sometimes leads to people booking appointments when perhaps they aren’t feeling brilliant and then turning out to feel better when their appointment comes around.

If this does occur, people should absolutely call and cancel so someone else who has been waiting can take up the appointment and the doctors and nurses time isn’t wasted.”