A CAMPAIGN to slash waiting times by reducing the number of missed appointments around 5,000 a year has been launched in Amersham and Wycombe hospitals.

Missed slots cost South Buckinghamshire NHS Trust around £300,000 a year and patients needing treatment miss out.

Hospitals will be blitzed with leaflets and posters spreading the message and an out-of-hours phoneline to cancel appointments has been set up.

It was revealed in a report last month that 825 patients waited longer than 13 weeks for a first appointment, out of which 184 waited more than 26 weeks 85 behind the NHS Executive target.

Ron Collins, head of information and commissioning, said: "Missed appointments are a missed opportunity for the NHS. They are a waste of time, money and energy.

"The message is simple if you're not coming let us know so we can reallocate appointments to other patients.

"If you miss your appointment and fail to inform us in good time you make others wait longer and you could be putting your own health at risk.

"Your appointment can always be rearranged or cancelled and given to someone else."

Communications with minority ethnic groups will also be stepped up and the trust is also moving to make treatment easier for patients by allowing them to set dates convenient to them.

The campaign follows a national survey of 1,400 patients which highlighted the extent of the problem. It emerged that nine per cent of participants no longer needed an appointment but had not cancelled.