Hundreds of operations cancelled at the 11th hour at Wigan's hospitals

The British Medical Association called the tens of thousands of cancellations across the country the sign of a "creaking" NHS.

Figures from NHS England show 460 operations were cancelled by Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (WWL) in 2023.

This was fewer than the 605 operations cancelled the year before and down from 924 in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic.

These were cancellations on the day of the appointment or after the patient had arrived at hospital – rather than operations rearranged in advance.

NHS guidance says this can happen for a variety of reasons, including surgeons becoming unavailable, emergency cases or administrative errors.

The NHS has a target of rebooking operations within 28 days of a cancellation – but 44.3 per cent of cancellations did not hit that target at WWL.

By contrast, in 2019 5.8 per cent were not rebooked in that timeframe.

Interim chief operating officer Claire Wannell said: “At WWL, the primary reason for on-the-day rescheduling of elective operations across each of our hospital sites is that patients are deemed unfit to proceed, usually due to a change in their physical health since having a pre-op assessment.

"Work is continually being done to reduce this number and how we can ensure patients are in the best possible condition for surgery, including educating and communicating with patients about how to keep well and best prepare for elective surgery.

"We also share information and advice, along with handy resources, to help patients manage physical and mental well-being on the Greater Manchester While You Wait website.

“We understand that having planned surgery postponed can be very upsetting, especially for patients who have been waiting for many months for surgery, and we apologise for these instances where there has been no other option.”

Across England, the number of cancelled operations for non-clinical reasons dropped by more than 11,000 compared to before the pandemic – there were 75,120 in 2023, down from 86,364 in 2019.

Despite this, far fewer patients were rebooked within the 28-day target. In 2019, 7,573 (8.8 per cent) did not receive a new appointment in the same month, compared to 17,995 (24 per cent) last year.

The British Medical Association said with "better planning and greater capacity" these cancellations could be avoided.

Prof Phillip Banfield, BMA council chairman, said the figures were signs of a "creaking NHS" which cannot cope with current workloads.

Rachel Power, chief executive of the Patients Association, said: "Having planned surgery cancelled can be very upsetting, especially for patients who have been waiting for many months for surgery.

"Where trusts are unable to reschedule surgery within the 28 days, they should be providing support and clear information to patients about what the next steps are for them."

An NHS spokesperson said: "Since December 2022 the NHS has had to reschedule more than 1.3m acute inpatient and outpatient appointments due to industrial action, and while staff have worked incredibly hard to reschedule these as quickly as possible, the ongoing strikes have meant the capacity to do this has been constrained."

It is possible some last-minute cancellations may have been caused by strikes if the operation was not rescheduled in time, but most operations moved due to industrial action will not appear in the above statistics.

The spokesperson continued: "Despite this, latest figures show hard-working NHS staff delivered more elective activity in 2023 than in any other year since the start of the pandemic – with more than 17.3m treated – meaning the elective waiting list has fallen for the third consecutive month in December."

Mr Banfield rejected the claim that strikes were contributing to last-cancellations, saying the BMA had "given adequate notice to trusts ahead of strike days so they can prepare and reschedule appropriately".

He added: "Doctors are taking industrial action because we know that without valuing doctors’ skills and expertise properly, they will continue to leave the NHS. And without enough doctors, patients will continue to bear the brunt."