Lincs: United Lincolnshire Hospital NHS Trust is seventh worst in the country

The NHS England figures showed that for the last three months of 2014 , 304 operations were cancelled by the trust.

During the quarter ending 31st December 2014, 19,471 operations were cancelled at the last minute for non-clinical reasons by NHS providers across the country.

In the same period in 2013/14, there were 15,852 cancelled operations.

Cancelled operations during the quarter represented 1.0 per cent of all elective activity, compared to 0.9 per cent in the same period in 2013/14.

Of these cancellations 1,230, 6.3 per cent, of patients were not treated within 28 days of a cancellation.

In the same period in 2013/14, 679, 4.3 per cent, of patients were not treated within 28 days.

Michelle Rhodes, Director of Operations, said: “The quality and safety of patient care is the Trust’s number one priority.”

“Since Christmas, the NHS in Lincolnshire, and the whole country, has faced significant demand on services.”

“We have seen a high number of very sick patients in our hospitals with complex health needs, which often result in longer stays in hospital.”

“To help us prioritise the patients with the most urgent needs, we have had to postpone some planned elective operations.”

“This has allowed us to safely manage patients in our hospitals by releasing some beds and doctors and nurses onto the wards to focus on emergency patients.”

“We recognise that cancelling operations and procedures is very distressing for our patients and their families and we apologise for this.”

“We are trying to rearrange appointments as quickly as possible.’’

Labour’s Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Gainsborough, David Prescott, has spoken out about the figures after meeting with Shadow Health Secretary, Andy Burnham, to discuss the party’s 10 Year Plan for Health and Care.

He said: “These figures are the worst for a decade.”

“I really feel for the 304 patients who’ve had to go through the stress of having their operations cancelled at the last minute.”

Mr Prescott went to London to meet Mr Burnham and highlighted concerns from people, especially in rural areas, that they’re finding it increasingly had to get a GP appointment and they discussed plans for the next 10 years.