15,000 children’s operations cancelled last year as bed and staff shortages bite

• Children left waiting almost three years for an operation

• Cancelled children’s operations surge by 23% compared to last year

• Lib Dem Leader Ed Davey calls for NHS rescue plan on local election visit to hospital

Almost 15,000 children’s operations were cancelled at hospitals in England last year, many due to a shortage of staff and beds, figures uncovered by the Liberal Democrats have revealed.

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey will today urge the government to come up with a rescue plan to bring the health service back from the brink.

The figures show 14,628 children's operations were cancelled in 2022, up 23% from the previous year and the highest level in the past five years. The data was obtained by the Liberal Democrats through Freedom of Information requests, with responses received from 77 NHS hospital trusts in England. Overall nearly 60,000 children’s operations have been cancelled since 2018.

Almost 4,000 of the cancellations last year were due to a lack of beds, a staggering 60% rise on the year before. 2,894 children’s operations were cancelled due to a lack of staff, up more than 50%, 446 were cancelled due to equipment problems, and 1,100 were cancelled due to a lack of theatre time on the day or because lists were overbooked.

University Hospitals Birmingham had over 3,160 children’s operations cancelled last year, more than any other trust. Of these, over 2,000 or more than two thirds of the total were due to a lack of beds, while 760 were because of staff shortages.

The other hospital trusts with the highest number of children’s operations being cancelled last year were Birmingham Women and Children's (2,217), Milton Keynes University Hospital (1,284), Alder Hey Children's Hospital (682) and Portsmouth Hospitals (589).

The data also shows some children have been waiting almost three years for an operation. The longest wait was at Leicester General (1,083 days), followed by Hull University Teaching Hospitals (1,008 days), Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust (917 days) and East Kent Hospitals (900 days).

The Liberal Democrats are demanding a rescue plan for the NHS and care, including recruiting 8,000 more GPs, bringing in a higher minimum wage for social care workers and bringing in a proper NHS workforce plan.

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

“The shocking scale of cancelled children’s operations is a badge of shame for this Conservative government. Behind these figures are countless children and parents having to wait in pain and distress. 

“Years of neglect by this government have led to chronic staff shortages and a lack of hospital beds, with communities across the country paying the price.

“The local elections in May are a chance to send this out of touch Conservative government a message that enough is enough. We need a rescue plan now to bring local health services back from the brink.”

ENDS

Notes to Editor

Full data broken down by local NHS trust is available here. Please note two trusts have  provided revised figures on longest waits since this release was initially issued on Friday 31st March (Ipswich and Colchester Hospitals and Royal Free London).

The Liberal Democrats are demanding a rescue plan for the NHS and care. This would include:

• Recruit an extra 8,000 GPs to deliver 65 million more appointments a year, taking pressure off hospitals and getting patients the urgent attention they need.

• Introduce a Carer’s Minimum Wage for social care workers to stem the exodus of staff and ensure hospitals can discharge their patients safely and efficiently.

• Ensure the Government brings forward their NHS workforce plan now, and fully fund pay rises for staff so that the NHS doesn’t have to stretch its budget even further.