More than 2,000 operations cancelled at the last minute in February

More than 2,000 operations were cancelled at the last minute in February, statistics show.

There were 24,268 operations scheduled to take place in February, the latest month available, according to Public Health Scotland (PHS).

This is 12.7% higher than the 21,536 planned in February 2023.

However, 2,113 – or 8.7% – were cancelled the day before, or on the day the patient was due to be treated at a Scottish hospital.

It is a decrease compared to the 2,425 (10%) cancelled surgeries in January.

The number of planned operations has been steadily increasing since the pandemic, with a 9.6% rise compared to the previous 12 months.

Although more operations were cancelled at the last minute in February 2024 than those in the previous year – 1,910 – the percentage is higher than the 8.9% in 2023.

Of all planned operations in February this year, 797 (3.3%) were cancelled by the hospital for clinical reasons, 677 (2.8%) were cancelled by the patient and 513 (2.1%) by the hospital for capacity or non-clinical reasons. A further 126 operations were cancelled for “other reasons”.

Scottish Conservative shadow health secretary, Dr Sandesh Gulhane, said: “These appalling figures once again expose the monumental failures of Humza Yousaf’s flimsy recovery plan for our NHS.

“It has completely failed to remobilise frontline services and thousands of patients are still seeing operations cancelled at the last minute. That will not only harm them physically but mentally as well.

“Despite the best efforts of my dedicated colleagues, the dire workforce planning by successive SNP health secretaries means health boards simply do not have the capacity to carry out operations as planned.

“Coupled with the SNP’s failure to eradicate delayed discharge, hospital beds are being taken up by patients who are fit enough to go home and not by patients who urgently need help.

“For all the SNP try and spin, almost 450,000 fewer operations have been carried out since the pandemic and their only plan seems to be repeating past mistakes.

“Neil Gray must urgently deliver a real vision for our NHS and he should start by adopting our plans for a modern, efficient and local health service.”

Health Secretary Neil Gray said: “The latest statistics show continued progress, with 764 operations performed per day in February 2024, compared to 701 per day in February 2023, a 9.0% increase.

“The number of performed operations has been steadily increasing since the pandemic restrictions first affected services in March 2020.

“We are working closely with health boards across Scotland to maximise capacity and ensure patients who have had operations cancelled are seen as quickly as possible.”