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2,500 operations cancelled in ONE YEAR at Sandwell and City hospitals

Some 2,500 operations were cancelled at Sandwell and City Hospitals in the space of a year, figures have revealed.

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The number of procedures being put off reached its highest in February, when almost 300 patients were forced to rearrange.

Data showed cancelled operations at the trust which runs both hospitals rose sharply over the past 12 months.

The total shot up to 284 in February, compared to 194 in December 2015.

In total, 2,500 operations were cancelled in the 12 months to February.

In each case, patients were given a maximum of a week's notice that their operation would not be going ahead.

Hospital bosses said the number of cancelled operations 'remain high' and that it is an issue they are working to address.

Some patients who had procedures cancelled were made to wait longer than the 28-day limit set by NHS chiefs for it to be rearranged.

It became an issue during the busy winter period when the trust breached the 28-day target on nine occasions, when during most months it would not happen at all.

A trust board report said the breaches could lead to an investigation by Care Quality Commission. Ian McGarry, from scrutiny body Sandwell Healthwatch, said the number of cancelled operations was a concern.

He said: "Any cancelled operation is really bad news for people.

"It is a problem because people can be waiting for a long time and their conditions can get worse. It is something we would like to see kept to a minimum.

"I am sure it is something the hospital is trying to put right and we would like to work with them to find a way forward."

It comes after a winter when the trust has struggled to cope with the number of patients coming into A&E.

The trust is still failing to come anywhere near the national target of seeing 95 per cent of patients within four hours.

The total languished at 82.2 per cent during February, as the Sandwell General experienced a testing month, but estimates suggests A&E performance improved marginally to 85.6 per cent during March.

The trust has not met the 95 per cent target for 18 months and more than 3,000 patients waited longer than four hours in February.

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