Hospitals defer routine ops due to NHS pressure

In 2015, the health secretary Jeremy Hunt said that charges were a possibility but this was later ruled out by David Cameron.

Patients across the United Kingdom have had to cancel non-urgent treatments until the end of the month according to NHS England.

"This means we are prioritising clinically urgent cases which will go ahead, but some non-urgent surgery will be postponed".

Winter is always a busy time for the NHS, and we would urge people to remember that our hospital A&E departments are for emergency care only.

Pressures on the NHS have escalated rapidly over the festive period with hospitals experiencing significant bed shortages.

"The NHS has been better prepared for this winter than ever before", she added. "After five years in the job, he should be taking responsibility, not fleeing the scene".

Clinical commissioning groups have been told to suspend the sanctions normally imposed on hospitals for mixed accommodation in single gender wards.

"The NHS needs to take further action to increase capacity and minimise disruptive last minute cancellations. That is why we are making these further recommendations".

The call comes while the National Institute for Health Research conducts research into whether Alcohol Intoxication Management Services (AIMS), or "drunk tanks", should be rolled out as a way of managing drunk patients.

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The hospital has also opened an unprecedented number of escalation beds in order to provide care for acutely unwell patients.

She added: "Patient safety is being compromised - there's no doubt about that".

Simon Evans, director of operations at ULHT, said: "As part of our winter plan we schedule fewer non-urgent and non-cancer operations so we are able to prioritise emergency patients".

The figures do not include local NHS trusts, meaning even more staff could be earning more than the PM.

Official figures show that 7.9m NHS appointments were missed previous year, which at an average cost of £120 per slot indicates that around £950m was wasted.

NHS trusts are advising patients to still attend any appointments as normal unless contacted directly.

Other local health and social care organisations also provided valuable support in enabling patients who were ready to leave hospital to be cared for at home or elsewhere in the community, said Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs both St Richard's and Worthing.

KGH's chief operating officer Rebecca Brown said: "We are under extreme pressure at the moment and are caring for a large number of older people who need urgent treatment".