Missed South Tees NHS appointments 'cost £10m'
Missed hospital appointments cost an NHS trust nearly £10m last year, it has revealed.
More than 1,200 patients failed to turn up each week, South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said. Last year, 65,786 appointments were missed costing an average of £150 each, it said. Head of outpatients Ian Rooney said some patients "genuinely forget" but others "struggle to get the time off work or are feeling better". "Someone else might really need that appointment," he said. The rate of missed appointments is about 9%, with 1,265 "did not attends" out of 13,841 visits booked last week. The trust is reviewing its reminder service and letters to patients to encourage people to contact the hospital if they cannot attend.