MISSED appointments cost a local NHS trust more than £4.5 million in the last year.
Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust, which runs Epsom hospital, treated 558,000 out-patients in the 2011-12 financial year, but a further 36,266 people with appointments did not turn up – 1 in 15.
Only 809 in-patients out of a total of 56,875 failed to show up, but as in-patient appointments are expensive this added £1million to the total.
Joint medical director Dr Ruth Charlton said: "We understand that people often have genuine reasons for missing an appointment, but it does have a real impact on the work that we do and our other patients."
The trust's patients are less likely to miss an appointment than the national average, as across the UK 1 in 10 were not kept during 2011-12.
The trust has launched a new online appointment centre at www.epsom-sthelier.nhs.uk/appointments making it easier to cancel or reschedule an appointment.
Patients can also cancel and amend appointments by calling 0208296 2000.
