Portsmouth Hospitals Trust beats national average for number of elective operations cancelled at last minute

NHS England figures show 77 elective operations were cancelled at the last minute in the three months to December at Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust, which operates Queen Alexandra Hospital in Cosham – down from 99 the previous quarter.

A total of 320 operations were cancelled on the day the patient arrived at hospital, after they arrived, or on the day of the operation itself in 2022.

Nationally, cancelled operations rose by 9 per cent in the three months to December from the previous quarter.

The proportion of cancelled operations has remained consistent at around one per cent of the total number of operations planned since before the pandemic.

Tim Mitchell, vice-president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, said: ‘No surgeon wants to be in the position of telling a patient their surgery has to be cancelled but the very high demand we have seen in emergency departments since the summer, and problems discharging patients who are ready to leave hospital when there is a lack of social care, mean this is too often what has to happen.

‘Gaps in the workforce also play a huge part. Often there will be a surgeon available to operate, but no theatre nurses or anaesthetists.’

More patients of cancelled operations across England also had to wait longer to be treated again. Some 4,590 patients were forced to wait more than 28 days to be treated following their operation being cancelled in the three months to December – up from 4,150 the previous quarter.

Of these, only four were at Portsmouth Hospitals Trust – down from 14 the previous quarter.

The Department for Health and Social care said bringing down waiting lists and providing the highest quality care is a ‘top priority’, and that the rise in cancellations was driven by the increase in booked operations.

A spokesperson added: ‘The NHS has already made strong progress in tackling the Covid backlogs, virtually eliminating waits of over two years for treatment – the first target in the Elective Recovery Plan – and all efforts are being made to deliver the next ambition to eliminate waits of 18 months or more by April.’