SCHEDULED operations in Scotland’s hospitals reached the highest number since the start of the Covid pandemic in March, new figures have shown.
There were 22,000 operations due to take place over the course of the month, Public Health Scotland data revealed, although almost one in 10 of these was cancelled either on the day surgery was due to take place or the day before.
Of the 2109 operations that were cancelled, 744 were put back because by the hospital because of clinical reasons, with 739 surgeries cancelled by the patient.
However, 2.5% of planned surgeries (553 operations) had to be cancelled by the hospital for non-clinical or capacity reasons.
And NHS Highland cancelled more than a fifth of operations in March – the highest proportion of any health board in Scotland.
This was “due to limited bed capacity, following a high number of Covid-19 patients”, according to the Public Health Scotland report.
It comes as the number of operations scheduled by the health service reached its highest level since February 2020, when there were 27,645 surgeries planned.
In March 2020 that fell to 20,192, and the coronavirus pandemic meant that by April that year, the number of scheduled operations dropped to just 3406.
However, when the figures for March this year are compared with February 2020 – the month before the first Covid lockdown – there were a fifth fewer operations scheduled.
A spokesperson for Public Health Scotland said: “The number of operations that services are able to schedule continues to be impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said that planned operations were up by “over 15% on the previous month”, describing this as a “significant positive step in the right direction” despite the presence of the BA.2 Omicron subvariant of Covid.
The spokesperson said: “We are working with NHS Boards to get those who have had treatments or procedures postponed due to Covid-19 the care they need as quickly as possible.
“Throughout the pandemic, NHS Boards have ensured that urgent, maternity and vital cancer services continue as usual and have worked hard to ensure vital cancer care remains in place where clinically agreed.
“In March 2022, almost 20,000 planned operations took place across NHS Scotland, an increase of over 15% on the previous month. This is a significant positive step in the right direction, despite this being in the midst of the peak of the BA.2 subvariant wave.”
