More ops being cancelled at the county’s hospitals
MORE and more people are having their operation cancelled at Leicestershire hospitals.
University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust cancelled 1,772 elective operations at the last minute in 2019, the highest number in a single year since comparable records began in 2002.
Doctor’s groups said increasingly busy hospitals and not enough staff were contributing to the problem, leaving patients to suffer pain and distress with longer waits.
The 1,772 cancellations were for non-urgent operations that were postponed for non-medical reasons.
The number was up 16% from 348 in 2018, and has almost doubled from 1,080 cancellations in 2009.
At the trust, 284 patients were not treated within 28 days of their last minute cancellation in 2019, although that was an improvement from 342 in 2018, according to the data from NHS England.
It also cancelled 25 urgent operations for non-medical reasons last year, although again, that was down from 40 in 2018.
Urgent operations are those that need to be carried out either immediately or within a few hours or days to prevent life or limb threatening consequences.
Across England, 86,468 elective operations were cancelled at the last minute for non-medical reasons in 2019. That’s the highest number in 25 years.
Dr Samantha Batt-Rawden, spokeswoman The Doctors’ Association UK described the rising numbers as “incredibly concerning”. She said: “We have no doubt that a staffing crisis in the NHS has exacerbated this issue. Intensive care units across the country have had no option but to close beds due to a lack of staff, resulting in cancelled operations for those patients who require high dependency post-operative care.
“This has been compounded by a punitive pensions tax which has forced consultants to drop their hours as wait times spiral.
“The government have had multiple opportunities to address this entirely predictable crisis. Warnings from frontline doctors have gone unheeded, and sadly it is our patients who will pay the price.”
A total of 7,592 patients were not treated within 28 days of their last minute cancellation last year, although that was an improvement from 8,165 a year before.
BMA consultants committee chair, Dr Rob Harwood, said it was testament to hard-working healthcare staff the proportion was so low.
An NHS spokesperson said: “These figures reflect significant increases in demand for both emergency and planned care, and in fact you were less likely to have your operation cancelled in 2019 than you were in 2018.
“While the number of cancelled operations remains low set against the millions of operations performed in the NHS each year, the growing need for care underlines why the Government’s commitment to increase the number of nurses by 50,000 and invest in new and expanded beds and facilities will be crucial in achieving this over the coming years.”