NHS bosses halt ops over shortage of beds
HEALTH chiefs fear a backlog of up to 55,000 operations after hospitals in England were told last night to delay all January routine appointments and pre-planned surgery as they struggle with rising winter patient numbers.
The NHS warned nonurgent surgery, including knee or hip replacements, would be put back until after January 31 and officials estimate this could mean as many as 55,000 deferred operations. Cancer and timecritical procedures should go ahead as planned.
NHS England insisted the move was necessary to allow staff to treat the sickest patients and free up beds.
Trusts were initially told to defer Christmas appointments until mid- January. But because doctors are still treating higher numbers of severely ill people in A&E and patients with respiratory illnesses and flu, more operations will be cancelled.
Senior medics said they were forced to treat patients in corridors amid a shortage of beds.
Emergency medicine consultant Dr Adrian Boyle, chairman for quality at the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said: “Every Type 1 emergency department that I know of is under serious and sustained pressure.
“It feels worse than the equivalent period last year.
“This means that ambulances are waiting outside emergency departments waiting to offload, the emergency departments are full, clinical staff are working extremely hard to try to look after these patients, often having to treat patients in corridors, people suffering lengthy delays.
“And we know that excessive crowding within emergency departments is associated with avoidable deaths.”
Dr Nick Scriven, president of the Society for Acute Medicine, added: “The position at the moment is as bad as I’ve ever known. Pre-Christmas, 43 trusts were more than 98 per cent full despite 3,000 extra beds in use. I expect this to be at least doubled, maybe trebled, today.”
Yesterday Dr Richard Fawcett, an A&E doctor at the Royal Stoke University Hospital, apologised on Twitter for “Third World” conditions in his department due to overcrowding.
NHS National Emergency Pressures Panel chairman Sir Bruce Keogh said: “There are early signs of increased flu prevalence.
“The NHS needs to take further action to increase capacity and minimise disruptive last-minute cancellations.”
A Department of Health spokesman said: “We know the NHS is extremely busy – as it always is at this time of year – but hardworking staff are taking the necessary steps to make sure patients continue to get seen.”