Elective Hip and Knee Replacements Cancelled
The BOA reported in January 2015 that hip and knee replacements are being cancelled in the light of increasing pressure on A&E.
Clare Marx, President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, said:
“The continued rise in the number of operations cancelled for non-clinical reasons remains of deep concern. Telling a patient that they cannot have the operation they have waited and planned for can cause considerable distress to the individual and their family. As surgeons we are doing our best to manage our patients’ conditions and to make sure they can have the surgery at a time when they need it.” The BOA fully supports this position.
NHS figures show a sharp rise in the number of planned operations being cancelled.
The Guardian reported that thousands of patients whose operations have been cancelled because of the growing turmoil in the UK’s A&E departments are facing prolonged anxiety, discomfort and pain while they wait for a new date for their surgery.
Unprecedented demand has led to a third more elective operations being cancelled in England this winter than last year. A total of 12,345 were called off at short notice between 3 November and 4 January, a rise of 32% on the 9,320 seen in the same period in the winter of 2013-14.
It states that some 3,771 procedures such as hernia repairs and hip or knee replacements were cancelled in the three weeks before and during the festive season alone, as the NHS experienced some of the most intense pressure in its history.
More than 200 operations have been cancelled because of mounting pressure on the A&E services across Leicester’s three hospitals. Latest figures show that since the start of December there have been a total of 239 cancellations. Of these 65 were on the day the patient was due to have their operation. ?
