Cancelled planned operations
Month Ending 30 November 2022

About this release

This release by Public Health Scotland (PHS) provides a monthly update on the number of operations in NHSScotland that were cancelled the day before or the day of treatment. Note that due to technical issues, NHS Lothian have been unable to provide data from October 2022 onwards. These data have also been excluded from NHSScotland totals.

Main points

• The total number of planned operations across NHSScotland (excl. NHS Lothian) during November 2022 was 21,336. This represents an increase of 12.9% from 18,894 in October 2022 and is 21.8% higher than the number planned in November 2021 (17,512). When compared to November 2019, prior to the pandemic, there were 13.2% fewer operations planned, down from 24,571.

Total planned operations and percentage of cancelled planned operations, by reason, up to November 2022

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Total planned operations and percentage of cancelled planned operations, by reason, up to November 2022

• During November 2022, 8.6% of all planned operations were cancelled the day before or on the day the patient was due to be treated for NHSScotland (excl. NHS Lothian). This has decreased slightly from the previous month and remains comparable to pre-pandemic levels (8.6% in November 2019). Across NHS Boards, this percentage ranged from 4.7% to 14.4%.
• Of all cancelled planned operations during November 2022, for NHSScotland (excl. NHS Lothian) 714 (3.3%) were cancelled by the hospital based on clinical reasons, 444 (2.1%) were cancelled by the hospital due to capacity or non-clinical reasons, 590 (2.8%) were cancelled by the patient, and 95 (0.4%) were cancelled due to other reasons. The rate of planned operations cancelled by the patient has been on an upward trend since March 2021 and is similar to pre-pandemic levels.

Background

These statistics are released monthly. Data for this publication are submitted from NHS Board theatre systems. Further information on the reasons for cancellation can be found on the Cancelled Planned Operations section of our website.

These statistics continue to be affected by COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic. On 30 April 2022, NHSScotland was stood down from emergency footing, however COVID-19 is still affecting provision and availability of services with waves of infection resulting in reduced capacity, for example due to increased staff absence and higher demand from emergency departments and inpatient wards. During these periods there is often a requirement to prioritise and treat only those patients with the most urgent clinical needs.

Further information

The next release of this publication will be 07 February 2023.

NHS Performs

A selection of information from this publication is included in NHS Performs. NHS Performs is a website that brings together a range of information on how hospitals and NHS Boards within NHSScotland are performing.