A new texting service has been launched by a health trust to help patients remember their hospital appointments.

The new service, created after missed appointments cost Epsom and St Helier Hospitals Trust more than £3m last year, sends a text to patients a week before their appointment, reminding them it is due to take place.

Sue Jones, the trust’s director of service improvement, said: “As a trust, we see approximately 700,000 patients a year and ask that people who can’t make their appointments get in touch and let us know beforehand.

“Missed appointments are disruptive to our services and very costly. It’s also inconvenient for patients who do turn up, as they could have been seen in an earlier time slot.

“This new service will make it much easier for patients to get in touch with us and let us know ahead of time if they can no longer keep their appointment.

"By letting us know, we can see other patients more quickly and can reduce our costs dramatically – each missed appointment costs the trust approximately £126.”

Patients who want to join the texting service should go to www.epsom-sthelier.nhs.uk/addmobilenumber or call the appointments centre on 020 8296 2968.