The Southern Daily Echo has launched a campaign to slash the amount of money it claims is being wasted in local hospitals.

The campaign, You Can Help Your NHS, has been backed by Prime Minister Tony Blair and aims to shave off some of the millions of pounds lost annually by Hampshire and Isle of Wight health services.

Mr Blair said: “I would like to thank the Daily Echo for highlighting the important issue of patients failing to turn up for their NHS appointments.

“As the Daily Echo campaign shows, the public can play their part in helping cut delays by making sure NHS staff time and resources are not wasted.”

The move comes after the paper revealed how 75,000 appointments in the region were missed last year by patients who didn’t turn up, costing the health service £50 for every missed appointment and resulting in more than £3.5m being wasted every year. In Southampton alone 26,000 people missed appointments, which meant £1.3m and 6,500 staff hours were wasted.

Lost equipment and vandalism were also said to be two significant but unnecessary problems caused in the hospitals.

After coming under criticism for its orthopaedic waiting list, Southampton University Hospital NHS Trust has reduced waiting lists so that they are now meeting Government targets, which means patients will no longer wait more than six months for orthopaedic treatment.

But, having done all they can, they are now urging patients to make a difference to the health service in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and cancel unwanted appointments or return equipment no longer needed.

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