CANCELLED operations at the Great Western Hospital have reached a spring six year high, the latest figures released by the NHS have shown.

During the first quarter of the new financial year from April to June, 87 operations were cancelled at the last minute due to “non-clinical reasons” at the Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, according to NHS England.

Additionally there were two patients who were not treated within 28 days of the cancellation of their operation at one of the trust’s 15 operating theatres.

One of the pledges in the NHS Constitution outlines that any operation cancelled for a non-clinical reason must be rescheduled for a new date within 28 days of the original operation. This 28-day standard covers all planned and booked hospital operations, including day surgery, but doesn’t cover minor operations carried out at outpatient appointments or clinics.

The number of cancellations marks a rise on the same quarter last year when there were 21 fewer patients who were told their operation would not be going ahead. But of those 66 affected, only one patient did not have their operation rescheduled within 28 days.

The spring figures mark a decrease on the previous quarter when there were 112 operations cancelled between January and March, with two missing the rescheduling deadline.

But this year’s figures for the spring quarter mark the highest point of cancellations for the first quarter since the same period in 2009/10 when there were 136 operations cancelled, with one missing the 28 rescheduling pledge.

This fell by more than half the following year when only 57 were cancelled between April and June – with every single one being given a new appointment within 28 days, and fell further the following year to 49 cancellations with one being rescheduled after 28 days.

Some of the reasons classified as non-clinical reasons for cancelling operations include no beds being available on the ward, or no critical care beds being available and staff unavailability such as the surgeon, anaesthetist or operating theatre staff.

It also covers situations where an emergency case had to take priority in the operating theatre, or when operations took longer than expected so the list of operations over-ran, as well as equipment failure and administrative errors.

A spokesman for the Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “Healthcare staff at the Great Western Hospital performed 13,523 routine operations last year with fewer than three per cent needing to be rearranged at the last minute. Of those patients whose appointments were postponed, more than 97 per cent were given a new date within 28 days.

“On rare occasions, there are circumstances out of our control, such as staff sickness, industrial action or an increase in emergency admissions, which mean that some routine operations need to be postponed. This is so that we can prioritise patients needing emergency or urgent care, including cancer patients and those with life threatening conditions.”