A huge reduction in the number of patients having their surgery cancelled just hours before they are due in theatre is unlikely to be maintained at Southend Hospital.

In three months to the end of September, 33 patients were told on their admission date that their operation had been cancelled, compared with 101 in the previous quarter.

Anne James, director of operations and service development, said: "That was a tremendous improvement, but the situation has deteriorated and the December quarter will be significantly worse."

Large numbers of cancellations have a knock-on effect on the hospital's ability to readmit patients within 28 days, as stipulated by the Government.

Mrs James said: "The more patients we fail to admit on the day of surgery, the greater the challenge is in terms of rescheduling."

Published Friday November 8, 2002

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