40 operations per day cancelled

Hospitals across Scotland cancelled the equivalent of 40 operations a day in January because of problems such as a lack of beds or staff, new figures have revealed.

Official NHS figures showed that of the 27,890 surgeries which were scheduled to take place, a total of 3,424 were cancelled – 12.3 per cent of all planned procedures. This includes 1,249 which were cancelled by the hospital due to capacity or non-clinical reasons. That compares to the 778 operations that were cancelled on these grounds in December 2017, and is also up from January last year, when the total was 704.

Health Secretary Shona Robison said the first month of 2018 had been “exceptionally challenging” month for the NHS. She added: “Unlike in NHS England, there was no blanket cancellation of nonurgent elective admissions.”

Lib Dem health spokesman Alex Cole-hamilton said cancellations caused stress and disruption.