Teesside hospital trusts cancel operations due to winter pressures

Teesside hospitals have been forced to cancel operations as winter pressures continue to take hold.

Both South and North Tees NHS Foundation Trusts have confirmed that they have had to cancel pre-planned operations in recent days.

For the week-ending Tuesday, January 6, South Tees cancelled 14 operations, categorised as operations cancelled in previous 24 hours, and were also forced to postpone other elective operations planned for more than a day ahead.

North Tees has not confirmed the number of operations they have postponed but said the figure for this week is “small”.

The news comes as figures released yesterday showed Teesside hospital trusts again failed to meet A&E waiting time targets last week.

Hospital trusts are expected to see 95% of patients within four hours of their A&E attendance.

But both South and North Tees have been missing the target.

Up to the week ending January 4, South Tees, which operates James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough and the Friarage in Northallerton, hit 91.7%.

North Tees achieved 91.8%.

South Tees has now missed the target for the eighth week running, and North Tees for a fourth.

Both trusts said the figures reflect the pressures which have been put on their emergency departments.

In response to postponed operations, a spokesman for South Tees NHS Foundation Trust said: “We appreciate this is distressing for patients and their families – and it is frustrating for staff – but we are trying to keep any disruption to our elective (planned) programme to a minimal.

“We’re working hard to get patients back into hospital for their surgery as soon as beds become available.”

Chief operating officer and deputy chief executive of North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust Julie Gillon said: “The whole of the trust has been under intense pressure for a number of weeks now. This week a small number of planned operations have been postponed. However, no urgent or cancer procedures have been cancelled. All patients were given notice and their operations will be rescheduled at the earliest possible date.

“The decision to cancel any operation is not taken lightly and we are very sorry for those patients who are affected by this.”