MORE than 300 patients a day are having operations cancelled as the UK's National Health Service runs out of available beds, official figures show. Surgeons were forced to delay planned, “elective” procedures 3,113 times in the first two weeks of this month. This is an average of 311 each working day and a rise of almost 50% on the same period two years ago. The numbers are up 16% in the last year alone.
Another 161 urgent operations — where life, limb or organs were at risk — were also cancelled in the first half of this month, up from 138 last year.