Operations cancelled due to ‘lack of staff and theatres’
A report by the NHS watchdog, the Audit Commission, has highlighted that hospitals are cancelling operations because they do not have enough doctors and theatres.
The Audit Commission found that on average NHS Trusts cancelled six per cent of planned operations because of the lack of available consultants or operating theatres.
The Commission claimed that whilst some hospitals would benefit from extra investment to cut the number of cancellations, many needed to improve the management of their resources to better serve their patients.
The report pointed out that one in four trusts in England and Wales used their operating theatres for just 65% of the time that they had planned to. The Commission argued that making sure that the operating sessions started on time and that surgeons and patients were available would considerably improve this performance.
James Strachan, Audit Commission Chairman stated, ‘This series of reports contains messages for all those involved in delivering a patient-focused service within the NHS. It involves doctors and managers working together to ensure that hospitals maximise the use of their existing resources for the benefit of patients.’
The Commission’s report revealed that non-urgent patients are not always admitted in the order in which they came onto the waiting list, meaning some people are having to wait longer than they need to.
Mr Strachan commented, ‘The variation in performance is too wide and many trusts could deliver better services if they managed their exiting resources more effectively. The reports show that many of the solutions are relatively simple.’
The Audit Commission report claims that better use of existing beds by cutting unnecessary delays in diagnosis, treatment and the discharge of emergency patients would greatly improve the NHS efficiency.
Mr Strachan welcomed the additional resources for the NHS from the Government and the proposed additional freedoms under the Foundation Hospitals initiative. However, he called on the Government to ensure that trusts are using their current resources efficiently before being allocated extra resources under the proposals.
