A&E crisis sparks 220 lost operations every day

The current crisis in overwhelmed A&E units has meant that more than 220 patients a day are having vital operations cancelled.

 

The Royal College of Emergency Medicine found that 6,726 elective operations were cancelled in November, in addition to 6,335 in the previous month.

 

They added that ‘unsustainable’ pressures linked to the casualty crisis and the collapse in social care was “impacting and derailing” routine care, making it impossible to tackle the backlog brought on by the pandemic.

 

The true number of cancelled operations is likely to be significantly higher as the report is based on survey data from 50 NHS trusts, which is just a third of the total.

 

One in 13 people attending A&E in the last two months endured a wait of 12 hours or longer, and only 62 per cent of patients were seen within the four hour target.

 

Dr Adrian Boyle of the RCEM said “The core of the issue is poor patient flow throughout the hospital and exit block caused by difficulties in discharging patients.”

 

NHS waiting lists for routine operations have already reached a record 5.83 million.

 

Chadwick Lawrence’s specialist team of clinical negligence lawyers have years of experience in medical negligence claims, providing support and guidance after life-changing events.  Not only do we represent clients in Yorkshire, but because of our reputation we also represent clients nationally.

 

If you believe that you or a relative may have been injured as a result of clinical/medical negligence, please call for free legal advice from our medical negligence solicitors on the freephone number below.

 

Posted by Karen Motley, Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

 

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