Operation backlog unacceptable

Posted: March 7, 2015

Posted in: Medical Negligence 

New figures have revealed that over 900 operations were cancelled for ‘non-medical reasons’ since the beginning of the year. Almost half of these, 436, were due to be carried out at Gloucestershire’s two major hospitals during a fortnight of extreme pressure on the NHS. Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust released figures, following a freedom of information request, which revealed that there had been an increase in frail and elderly patients, an increased demand on its services, and a lack of beds available, which all caused operation cancellations.

Following the Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust’s two major hospitals, the Great Western Hospital in Swindon had the next highest total of operation cancellations at 141. University Hospitals Bristol had 139 cancellations, and the Royal United Hospital in Bath had 72.

37% of surgery cancelled in one day

A Labour councillor who sits on Gloucestershire’s health scrutiny committee, David Drew, said that an investigation had been carried out and that it encouraged individual departments of the NHS in Gloucestershire to communicate.  He added, however: “…there is a long way to go before we can say that the underlying difficulties have gone away”.

5 January saw the biggest impact on the trust as Gloucestershire Royal Hospital had to cancel 37% of elective surgery. During the first two weeks of the year, 219 operations out of 1,279 were cancelled in Gloucester.

Clinical commissioning groups in Bristol and South Gloucestershire said that they were aware of the “significant impact” that these cancellations have on patients’ lives and apologised to all those affected.

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