Key Summary
- Around 1 in 10 surgeries either cancelled or postponed with less than 24 hour's notice.
- Experts opined that 40 per cent of these mishaps are avoidable.
- Improvement of clinical pathways necessary to avoid such incidents, says experts.
A study on elective surgery in 91 NHS Trusts found that one in 10 operations in England got cancelled or postponed with less than 24 hours' notice.
With more than 6 million patients waiting for treatment in February, 10 per cent of the surgeries were cancelled while 9 per cent of them were postponed during their pre-op appointment, summing up to nearly 300,000 cancellations or rescheduling.
The researchers said that 40 per cent of these incidents are avoidable as they were caused by medical reasons like infections, absence of patients, operating lists overrunning and emergency admissions.
Patients needing further tests or a specialist opinion is another reason for cancellations.
Researchers opined that knowing these reasons three to five days prior could have either prevented the cancellation or it would have allowed another patient to utilise that slot.
Dr James Bedford, the lead author of the study from University College London stressed on the need to implement better patient care ahead of surgery throughout NHS to avoid such mishaps.
According to him, this would help the health professionals detect health issues earlier wile early screening of low risk patients will help the professionals decide the need for surgery, which will reduce the waiting times.
An NHS spokesperson told the Guardian that they will improve the preoperative care for patients which will eliminate avoidable postponements and decrease waiting times.
Researchers suggest reforming clinical pathways with early screening, faster scheduling and, clear and transparent communication to bring a positive change in the current scenario.
Researchers from the National Institute for Health and Care Research Central London patient safety research collaboration, NHS England, University College London and the Royal College of Anaesthetists conducted the study by analysing planned surgery data in November 2024 for a week.
The study was published in the British Journal of Anaesthesia.
