Surgeons call for hospital beds to be ‘ ring- fenced’

SURGEONS ARE calling for hospital beds to be “ring- fenced” for planned operations, to avoid a “tsunami of cancellations” due to rising Covid- 19 cases.

A survey for the Royal College of Surgeons of England found most surgeons thought the NHS could not meet its targets to get surgery back to pre- pandemic levels.

Sir Simon Stevens, the head of the NHS in England, wrote to NHS trusts in July saying that, in September, they should hit at least 80 per cent of their last year’s activity for both overnight planned procedures and for outpatient or day case procedures.

In October, this figure should rise to 90 per cent, the letter said.

But the Royal College of Surgeons said its analysis showed trusts were not hitting the target, with issues including surgeons being forced to wait for coronavirus test results and a lack of access to operating theatre space.

In a survey of nearly 1,000 surgeons, the college found that only 14 per cent could treat the same number of patients in a session as they did pre- Covid.

Almost half ( 48 per cent) of surgeons said they needed access to more theatres and facilities to avoid surgical “down time” during deep cleaning, with many citing the need for more ring- fenced surgical beds.

The poll found particular problems in trauma and orthopaedics – such as hip or knee replacements and repair – with 58 per cent of these specialist surgeons saying activity had fallen below half of that seen in normal times.

And testing continues to be a key issue, with a quarter of surgeons saying members of their team are waiting more than 48 hours for a Covid- 19 test result, meaning they have to stay off work and self- isolate until they heard back.

Surgeons also reported issues accessing “Covid- light” hubs, which keep surgical patients separate from Covid patients.

Some 39 per cent of surgeons in England said planned surgery levels were running at less than half of those achieved last year.