Last-minute knee surgery cancellations ‘cost millions and ramp up waiting lists’

Cancelling knee replacement surgeries is “unforgivable”, academics have said, as a new study highlighted how postponing operations is costing the NHS millions and increasing hospital waiting lists.

As well as the economic cost, cancelled procedures come at a “great cost” to patients, researchers from the University of Bristol said.

A former Bristol Rovers captain described how his operation was cancelled at the “11th hour” while he sat waiting in his hospital gown.

It comes as a new study examined cancellations across six NHS hospitals in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, over five years between April 2018 and March 2023.

During this period 17,223 total knee replacement operations were completed and 9,403 were cancelled.

A quarter (25%) of the cancellations were less than