Almost 20,000 planned operations cancelled at the last minute took more than 28 days to rearrange last year, in breach of the NHS target, data shows.
The highest number of last-minute elective operation cancellations for non-clinical reasons were recorded at University Hospitals of Leicester with 2,614, followed by University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust at 1,798 and Barts Health NHS Trust, with 1,564.
Leicester was also the trust with the highest number of breaches (942), followed by Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, with 710 and University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, with 709.
Among the trusts that have undergone a merger in the last decade, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust topped the list for the highest number of cancellations and breaches, with 1,556 and 3,605, respectively, followed by Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, with 2,785 cancellations.
The research, by the House of Commons Library commissioned by the Liberal Democrats, revealed a three-fold increase in the number of elective operation cancellations that were not rescheduled within the target timeframe since 2015-16’s figure of 7 per cent.
In the past year, the number of breaches has risen by around 1,500 to the highest level since the pandemic. Close to a quarter (23 per cent) of elective operations cancelled in 2024-25 took more than a month to reschedule.
Elective operations, which are planned in advance, cover a broad range of surgeries to treat anything from minor ailments to cancer.
A last-minute cancellation is defined by NHS England as one that occurs after the patient has arrived in hospital or on the day of the operation or surgery.
The Government blamed the numbers on “years of underinvestment in the NHS” and said its 10-year plan for the health service was aimed at solving the problem by bringing waiting lists down.
Helen Morgan, Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care spokesperson and MP for North Shropshire, said: “Patients are being left in the lurch, forced to wait in pain and distress for potentially life altering operations. Each of these delays represents an extra month that someone’s misery is prolonged.
square NEWS Rayner’s tax hikes on savers ‘would hit NHS and harm growth’
Read More
“This is the devastating legacy of the Conservatives neglect of this NHS, but the Labour government is proving aimless in how to turn this around with ill-thought through reforms and kicking vital projects into the long-grass.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Appointments cancelled last minute are an enormous pain for patients and a big cost to the NHS.
“That’s why we are announcing £70m investment in new radiotherapy machines, using cutting-edge equipment to save 13,000 cancelled appointments a year, cut waiting times for treatment, and modernise the health service.”
Of the 108 NHS trusts that reported full data for each year since 2015/16, 73 saw a rise in the number of breaches.
Data for the three financial years from 2019-20 to 2021-22 are not available as NHS collection of this data was paused during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Instances where patients are offered a reasonable date within 28 days but choose to be treated later are not counted as breaches.
The i Paper contacted NHS England for comment.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( The NHS Trusts cancelling highest number of planned operations at last minute )
Also on site :
- Free school meals for half a million of England’s poorest children
- Anger as US blocks Gaza ceasefire resolution at UN Security Council
- Woman in poison mushroom killings trial says she was trying to fix "bland" meal