MISSED appointments are costing Worthing and Southlands Hospitals £500,000 a year.
In response to the problem, which sees more than 13,000 people a year fail to turn up for out-patient appointments, the hospital has launched a poster campaign.
The campaign aims to highlight the need for patients to tell the hospital if they are not able to attend their appointment.
Jeannie Baumann, the hospital's director of core services, said: "We are extremely busy seeing around 800 out-patients every day.
"A missed appointment is an appointment we could have offered to someone else, so it is really important patients contact us if they are not able to attend."
Out-patient clinics are held throughout the week at both Worthing and Southlands. When a patient is notified of their appointment they are given the telephone number for cancellations and re-scheduling.
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