The Daily Telegraph - 26.08.2019

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Review, page 34

BRITAIN’S BEST QUALITY NEWSPAPER

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NHS cancels patients 10 times in row

By Laura Donnelly, Patrick Scott

and Lizzie Roberts

HOSPITAL patients are having vital ap-

pointments cancelled more than 10

times in a row, amid growing chaos

across the NHS.

An investigation by The Daily Tele-

graph has found soaring numbers of

patients – many elderly – are suffering

repeated cancellations, with notice

only given in some cases the night be-

fore in letters dispatched by taxi.

In other cases, patients have been

left waiting years to see a hospital doc-

tor after their NHS slot was axed again

and again.

Five patients who experienced more

than 10 cancellations in a row had been

left waiting for care since at least 2014,

the figures show.

The disclosures reveal that across

the country, the number of people who

have suffered at least five appointment

cancellations in a row has more than

tripled in three years. The figures cover

patients sent by their GP to see a hospi-

tal specialist, as well as those due to

have follow-up checks, or those re-

ferred on to other hospital departments

for further investigations or treatment.

Think tanks said the dramatic trends

were “worrying”, while patients’

groups said the failings undermined

public confidence in the NHS, with

those subjected to repeated “bungles”

left with nowhere to turn.

Last year, 13,540 patients suffered at

least five cancellations in a row, com-

pared with 3,691 cases in 2016. They

included 185 patients who had the same

appointment cancelled at least 10 times

• almost three times more than in 2016,
  when 67 cases were recorded.
  But less than one in three trusts was
  able to provide such data, meaning the
  figures could represent “the tip of the
  iceberg,” experts said.
  The findings, from Freedom of Infor-
  mation disclosures, come amid grow-

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TV listings 35

Weather 36

PM: Britain can easily

cope with no deal

August bank holiday

hottest on record

Police fire shot during

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over trade war ‘regret’

Boris Johnson, speaking at the G

summit in Biarritz, declared Britain

“can easily cope” with a no-deal

scenario, and dismissed suggestions

that leaving without a deal would lead

to food shortages. The Prime Minister

said that whether a deal was reached

with the EU depended “entirely” on

European leaders, and that if no deal

was the outcome, the £39 billion

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Page 6

Britain’s weather records continued to

be broken yesterday as the country

baked in the hottest August Bank

Holiday weekend ever, with

temperatures reaching 91.9F (33.3C) at

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previous highs of 88.7F (31.5C) set at

the same location in 2001. The

record-breaking temperature follows

last month’s heatwave in which

Cambridge University recorded 101.7F

(38.7C) on July 25, making it the hottest

British day since records began.

Page 3

At least one warning shot was fired by

police during protests in Hong Kong

yesterday, the first time a live round

has been used during three months of

demonstrations.

Riot police brought water cannons

out of storage and fired volleys of tear

gas and rubber bullets at protesters

armed with sticks, bricks and

homemade petrol bombs.

Several officers drew pistols after a

group of protesters attacked a police

van. At least one fired his weapon.

Page 13

The White House has insisted that

Donald Trump does not regret starting

a trade war with China after the

president seemed to signal he was

concerned about escalating tensions

between the countries. At the G

summit in Biarritz, Mr Trump was

asked whether he had “second

thoughts” about ramping up tariffs on

Beijing and replied “Yeah, sure why

not?” However, the White House later

said Mr Trump’s only regret was not

raising the tariffs higher.

Page 29

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Sport, pages 1-

‘In some

cases notice

letters have

been

dispatched

by taxi the

night before’

ing delays for NHS treatment, with

4.4 million people on waiting lists.

Medics said the delays were exacer-

bated by a dispute over pensions, with

senior doctors increasingly refusing to

work overtime, or opting for early re-

tirement, to avoid high tax rates.

Boris Johnson has pledged to fix the

pensions crisis and bring an end to

long waits for healthcare. But experts

said the problems were being exacer-

bated by poor administrative systems

within the NHS, which meant much-

needed resources were being wasted.

Patients told how they had waited

months for appointments because staff

were unable to read illegible referrals.

Others who were subjected to re-

peated cancellations said hospital

trusts had used taxis to send letters, in

order to advise them that the next day’s

consultation had been postponed.

In total, 79 NHS hospital trusts –

around half of those in England – pro-

vided data about cancellations. The

investigation by this newspaper found

that the total number of cancellations

has tripled in a decade, with nine mil-

lion slots postponed in 2017-18. But just

41 trusts were able to provide detailed

information showing how many pa-

tients suffered repeated cancellations

of the same appointment.

Nottinghamshire Healthcare Foun-

dation Trust said 62 patients experi-

enced at least their 10th postponement

in a row, with no such cases in 2016.

St George’s University Hospitals

Foundation Trust, in London, said 19

patients had suffered at least 10 cancel-

lations, up from four in 2016. Four of

the patients were first due to have their

consultation in 2014, with one case dat-

ing back to 2013, the disclosures show.

Two trusts – Northampton General

Hospital, and Wrightington, Wigan

and Leigh Foundation – each saw 14 pa-

tients suffer at least 10 cancellations.

At Southend University Hospital

Foundation Trust, 12 patients had at

185

The number of

patients who had

the same

appointment

cancelled at least 10

times, almost three

times more than in

2016, when there

were 67 cases

least 10 consecutive postponements,

with 10 such cases at United Lin-

colnshire Hospitals trust.

Overall, the number of appoint-

ments cancelled by the 79 trusts has

risen by 14 per cent in three years.

Some trusts included in the national

data said their statistics may have in-

cluded patients who were offered an

earlier appointment, or those given a

“block booking” of several appoint-

ments that were cancelled en masse.

Other trusts said they had no way to

establish if the same appointment had

been repeatedly cancelled.

Rachel Power, the chief executive of

the Patients Association, said the chaos

undermined public confidence in the

NHS, with most patients unable to

choose to go elsewhere.

“For some patients, the most diffi-

cult and aggravating aspect of their

Continued on Page 4

Editorial Comment: Page 17

Sharp rise in hospitals repeatedly axing vital appointments, leaving some people waiting years to see a doctor, investigation reveals

sion

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page 34

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