More than 700 surgeries cancelled at Shropshire's hospitals in four months

More than 700 surgeries were cancelled at Shropshire’s hospitals during the past four months, it can be revealed.

Figures obtained from a Freedom of Information request show that 738 surgeries were cancelled at the hospitals run by Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital (SaTH) NHS Trust between September and December 2024.

The most was during September, with 201 cancelled, followed by 197 in November, 182 in October, and 158 in December.

In the majority of cases (495), the surgery was cancelled by the hospital, followed by 178 occasions when the patient was unfit, and 65 when the patient did not attend.

There was a similar pattern during the same period in 2023, with 735 surgeries being cancelled due to a variety of reasons. This is significantly higher than in 2022, when there were were 538 cancelled surgeries between October and December.

To help mitigate this, SaTH opened a new Planned Care Hub at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford last June, which supports patients awaiting planned surgery.

Anyone requiring gynaecology, vascular, ophthalmology, orthopaedic, breast, upper gastrointenstal (GI), ear, nose and throat (ENT) and maxillofacial procedures, as well as general surgery, will be treated in the hub.

Within its first month, nearly 300 people had used it.

Ned Hobbs, chief operating officer at SaTH, said: “We recognise that some of our patients are waiting too long for elective care, and are working hard to reduce our waiting lists and to prioritise operations.

“Our Planned Care Hub, which opened at Princess Royal Hospital in June 2024, has given us a facility to maintain our elective recovery, whilst we balance urgent and emergency care pressures.

“We schedule our clinics and operations based on clinical priority, and patient and staff availability, and we do everything possible to ensure operations are not cancelled.”