HOSPITAL chiefs in East Lancashire are appealing to patients to let them know if they are unable to attend appointments in a bid to cut waiting times.

Currently around one in five patients do not attend outpatient appointments made at the East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust.

This results in wasted time for doctors and hospital staff, increased waiting times and does not allow the Trust to make the best use of resources.

Between April 1 and December 31 last year there were 8,161 outpatient appointments at Burnley General Hospital but 1,862 did not turn up. During the same period at Blackburn Royal Infirmary and Queen's Park Hospital there were 7,399 appointments with 1,071 non attendees.

In the same period for 2002 there were 8,021 appointments at Burnley General Hospital, of which 1,555 did not attend. In Blackburn there were 7,586 appointments with 1,220 failing to turn up.

Some clinics have reported up to 20 per cent of patients not showing for appointments.

In order to improve attendance rates, the Trust sends out hundreds of reminder letters telling patients of their appointments. In the last 18 months booking centres have also been developed within the Trust, open from 8am until 8pm, to enable patients to telephone and cancel or change appointments.

The East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust is also introducing a new appointment booking system for all new outpatient referrals to give greater choice to patients regarding the date and time of their appointment.

Appointments are also booked nearer to the appointment date to reduce the number of patients who may forget.

Introduction of this system has significantly improved attendance rates.

John Dell, director of operations, said: "We need patients to contact booking centres as soon as possible if they wish to cancel or re-arrange an appointment.This will allow the Trust to manage outpatient clinics more efficiently to deliver the best service."

GP Dr Alastair Murdoch, Blackburn with Darwen Primary Care Trust executive committee chairman said: "There is high demand for appointments and the 'fail to attends' can be frustrating .

"The problem affects most surgeries and educating people is the key. Some surgeries publicise the number of missed appointments so patients are constantly reminded.

"Cancellations can be filled within minutes so patients should phone and cancel."