£3BN Top surgeon warns of op-cancel crisis
A MOUNTAIN of cancelled operations is set to cost the NHS around £3billion – sparking a second devastating health crisis.
And one of Britain’s top surgeons last night begged the 20,000 retired staff who have returned to the frontline to fight coronavirus – asking them to stay on to clear the huge backlog.
The Sunday People can reveal that.
OVER TWO MILLION ops have been shelved after non-urgent surgery was cancelled for at least three months.
FOUR MILLION people, some in agony, are waiting for procedures such as hip and knee replacements and cataract and hernia ops, plus outpatient treatments.
THOUSANDS of cancers are being missed every week and could lead to an extra 50,000 deaths.
THE £3BN COST of the catch-up operation – based on last year’s annual £12bn bill – is likely to be higher as agency staff and the private sector will be asked to help. Prof Derek Alderson, president of the Royal College of Surgeons in England, said: “We are probably only delivering around one third of our usual surgical activity and that’s nearly all for emergency and very urgent surgery. In the short term, we have to do a really major catch-up exercise to stop this backlog causing harm.
“The consequences are really serious. There are some patients who have cancers that are usually slow-growing but this may impact on long-term survival.
“A patient’s condition may deteriorate so they are no longer fit for the operation. Someone may be waiting for a hip replacement and may not be able to exercise and become even less fit for surgery. They may become addicted to opiates to manage their pain.
“Then there are all the mental health consequences.”
Postponing planned ops has, according to NHS England, freed up 12,000 beds for Covid-19 patients.
The procedures typically cost £1billion a month – a fee the health service will have to foot on top of its massive virus bill after the crisis has subsided.
It is feared the true financial toll of the pandemic will be much higher. Prof
Alderson added: “All of the staff have been working enormously hard. They will need to rest before they tackle the other mountain that is waiting times. There is a genuine risk of burn-out.
“We have to convince people who have returned to the health service to stay.
Missed
“We have to find good working practices to make them feel valued.”
Another big fear is that numbers of suspected cancer sufferers being referred by doctors for urgent hospital appointments have dropped by 75 per cent.
Cancer Research UK reckons 2,300