Ops knocked by staff levels
One in five halted for ‘ capacity reasons’
Nearly one in five cancelled elective operations in Ayrshire last year were because of a lack of local NHS staff, according to new figures.
The figures show that out of 2114 operations cancelled over the last 12 months, 409 were because of ‘ capacity or non- medical reasons’.
Ayr MSP John Scott said: “That nearly one in five cancelled operations because of capacity issues is further evidence of the effect of inadequate staffing in the Scottish NHS.
“Local health workers are already under enormous pressure and this is only being added to as a result of the staff shortages that have dogged NHS Ayrshire and Arran for years now.
“We need to see a big improvement in workforce planning by the Scottish Government, to increase the number of doctors and nurses in local hospitals, to take the strain off NHS staff and to help make sure that scheduled operations are not cancelled in future because of constraints on capacity.”
Jeane Freeman, MSP for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, said: “This winter has been a long and challenging period for our health service with many travel warnings causing disruption to hospitals, particularly around staff having difficulty getting to work.
“There has been a knock- on effect which takes hospitals time to recover from. Last week I visited Ayr Hospital and was again impressed by the hard work and commitment of our NHS staff.
“These are difficult decisions for health boards and staff when they have to make cancellations and I know can be upsetting for patients. But patient safety must always come first and the Scottish Government has been clear that those with a clinical priority, such as cancer patients, should not have their operations cancelled.”
Liz Moore, director for Acute Services at NHS Ayrshire & Arran, said: “From April 2017 to March 2018, there were 21,105 scheduled operations of which 409 did not go ahead due to capacity or non- medical reasons.
“This is less than two per cent of the total number of scheduled operations.
“Reasons for cancellation include an emergency operation taking priority; essential staff not being available due to unexpected absence; equipment not being available; or the unavailability of an appropriate bed. This category also includes any cancellation due to a theatre session over- running as a result of a preceding operation taking longer than expected, and cancellation of a patient to accommodate a more clinically urgent procedure.
“Every effort is made to ensure cancellations are kept to a minimum. All cancellations are reviewed on a weekly basis and action taken where appropriate to reduce the number of cancellations on scheduled operating lists. We would like to take this opportunity to apologise for any delays and to thank those affected for their patience and understanding.”