263 operations cancelled at last minute

Date published: 05/06/2008

The number of NHS operations cancelled at the last minute at the Pennine Acute Trust has dropped.

But the number of patients still untreated after 28 days of the cancellations has doubled.

Between January and March this year, 263 operations were cancelled at the 11th hour for non-clinical reasons — and 26 patients were still not treated within 28 days.

Figures for the same period last year showed 315 last minute cancellations but only 13 patients not treated within four weeks.

Department of Health data revealed the number of NHS operations cancelled at the last minute has risen to more than 5,000 a month.

Nationally, in the first quarter of this year, 16,800 operations were cancelled — up on last year’s 14,600 for the same period.

There were wide variations across England, with the highest number — 539 — at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

In comparison, parts of Wiltshire, Somerset, Dorset and Devon had no operations cancelled.

Across England, 1,025 (6 per cent) of patients were not treated within 28 days of a cancellation, compared with 729 (5 per cent) during the same period last year.

A spokesman for Pennine Acute Trust said: “Cancelled operations represent only a small fraction — about 1 per cent — of all planned surgery at our hospitals.

“For the Trust, these figures show a drop in the number of operations cancelled at the last minute for non-clinical reasons, which is obviously very welcome.

“Furthermore, we have reduced the percentage of patients not being treated within 28 days of cancelled operations from 14.1 per cent in 2005-06 to 5.9 per cent in 2007-08.

“This has been achieved against a backdrop of treating more in-patients and carrying out more day-case work.