Figures reveal a surge in the number of cancelled operations at Musgrove Park Hospital

Taunton And Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, cancelled 124 non-urgent operations, such as hip or knee surgeries, in the three months to June, the latest period covered by NHS England data.

This was more than twice as many as during the same period in 2017, when there were 60 last-minute cancellations.

The data covers cancellations that were due to non-clinical reasons, such as bed or staff shortages.

Chief medical officer at the trust, Dr Stuart Walker, said decisions to cancel operations were 'never taken lightly' and that work was being done to improve the situation.

Meanwhile the Royal College of Surgeons has blamed "enormous pressure" on the NHS for the increasing number of cancellations across England.

It also warned the figures could be masking the true scale of the problem, as they do not include operations cancelled at more than 24 hours' notice.

A last-minute cancellation is defined as being either on the day that a patient was due to arrive, after the patient has arrived, or on the day of the operation itself.

Professor Cliff Shearman, vice president of the RCS, said: “Having an operation that has been planned for months cancelled at short notice can be very stressful for patients and their families.

"Alongside practical considerations such as wasted time off work and rescheduling the surgery, patients will have to deal with the mental anguish of preparing for surgery all over again.

“They will also have to endure waiting longer in pain and discomfort, possibly unable to work or complete day-to-day tasks for themselves. In some cases, their condition may worsen."

Dr Walker said: “We always want to make sure our patients get the best possible care and treatment at Musgrove Park Hospital.

"The decision to cancel an operation is never taken lightly and we try to avoid this wherever possible. Unfortunately this is sometimes unavoidable, either because of unexpected medical concerns or because of a lack of critical care beds.

“Like many hospitals across the country we have seen a sustained increase in the number of patients who are being admitted in emergency, and who may need those same critical care beds. This then leaves them unavailable for non-emergency operations.

“We would like to reassure our patients that we are working extremely hard to reduce the number of cancelled operations, including by considering increasing the number of critical care beds at Musgrove Park Hospital, so that in the vast majority of cases, surgery can go ahead as planned.”

According to the NHS Constitution, the trust must offer a new date within a maximum period of 28 days after a non-urgent operation, such as hip or knee surgeries, has been cancelled.

If it is unable to do so, it must instead fund the treatment with another hospital and forfeit its payment from the NHS Clinical Commissioning Group that funds healthcare in the area.

However, 10% of patients at the Taunton And Somerset NHS Foundation Trust were not treated within this 28 day timeframe between April and June.This Is an increase on the previous year, when 7% of patients weren't treated within 28 days.

There were 18,806 last minute cancellations across England in the three months to June.

Of these, 11% of patients did not have their operations rescheduled within 28 days.

This rate is the second highest it has been since 2005, surpassed only in the preceding three months between January and March of this year, when it reached 12%.

"This will undoubtedly be down to the enormous pressures the NHS is facing", Professor Shearman said.

"These include not enough free beds in hospitals, difficulties tackling the backlog of operations that built-up over the winter, and now coping with a very busy summer thanks to record temperatures."

An NHS England spokesman said: “Only a small minority of operations are cancelled on the day, while 15,000 fewer people now wait a year for their operation compared with 2010.

“New guidance issued to trusts recently will see local health service leaders allocate extra funding to community services, like district nursing teams and outreach clinics, to help them care for more patients, freeing up hospital beds and staff to reduce surgery waiting lists.”