MORE than 20,000 missed GP appointments have been avoided across East Lancashire with the adoption of an ‘innovative’ new texting system.

Clinical commissioners said they sent out more than one million reminders to patients under the MJog scheme during 2016.

And 20,000 or so have replied to say that they no longer need the consultation - saving the local NHS an estimated £767,844 in wasted resources.

Dr Phil Huxley, East Lancashire Clinical Commissioning Group chairman, said: “The MJog service is vital to helping practices reduce the number of patients missing their appointments.

“It has also helped get key important messages out to target population groups, such as winter campaigns and reminding of the importance of having the flu vaccine.

“It has increased patient access to services and massively reduced communication costs.”

Trials of MJog were first conducted in the Burnley area in 2013 after East Lancashire CCG recognised that more effective ways of tackling the missed appointments issue were needed.

Staff at GP practices in Burnley, Padiham and Hapton sent out more than 215,000 appointment reminder messages and delivered around 67,000 health campaign messages, before the initiative was rolled out to Hyndburn, Pendle, Rossendale and Ribble Valley.

In 2016 the vast majority of the 57 health centres across the five boroughs participated in an expanded MJog exercise, with 455,153 friends and family test questionnaires sent out o patients as well as more than 16,500 test results.

The system was also used to call just around 14,560 patients, using a voice add-on, to invite them for their annual flu vaccination.

Health bosses estimate that they have saved just over £813,000 in postage costs alone, over the course of the year, by adopting the text, e-mail and voice message scheme.

A CCG spokesman added: “The message system is not only used to remind patients of appointments, it can inform them of services available to them, test results and also promote health awareness.”

Earlier this year Darwen and Rossendale MP Jake Berry backed calls to ‘fine’ patients who regularly missed GP appointments. NHS practices in East Lancashire estimate up to 20 per cent of their appointments are missed.