§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many operations were cancelled in England since January; and how many of these were due to delayed discharge. [129487]
§ Mr. HuttonData are collected quarterly on the number of operations cancelled by hospitals for non-clinical reasons: at the last minute (that is, on the day the patients are due to arrive or after arrival in hospital or on the day of their operation) and, in 2002–03 only, on the day of surgery.
Cancelled operations data at England level and by national health service trust and strategic health authority level are available in the Library and on the Department's website at www.doh.gov.uk/ hospitalactivity/data_requests.htm
The data collected on cancelled operations for non-clinical reasons are not broken down into the reasons for cancellation. Therefore, no data can be provided on how many operations are cancelled due to delayed discharge from hospital.