Surgeons calling for action over op delays

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 found most members 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% 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%, the letter said.

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

A survey of nearly 1,000 surgeons found that only 14% could treat the same number of patients as they did pre-Covid and 48% said they needed access to more theatres and facilities to avoid surgical "downtime" during deep cleaning.

M o re th a n t wo m i l l io n people in England are waiting longer than 18 weeks for treatment.

Professor Neil Mortensen, president of the Royal College of Surgeons, said: "Patients waiting for operations cannot be left behind indefinitely by the covid crisis. As the virus becomes more prevalent again, there is a real risk of a tsunami of cancelled operations unless surgical beds are funded and protected.

"That means building up theatre capacity and designating beds exclusively for those who need an operation.