Four trusts cancel planned operations as covid pressures mount

All non-urgent elective operations are being postponed for at least two weeks in a health system still seeing significant and growing pressure from coronavirus.

The four acute trusts in Kent and Medway will still carry out cancer and urgent electives, but other work is being postponed. Relatively few elective operations are usually carried out around Christmas and New Year, meaning the county is likely to see little or no elective work for the next four weeks.

In a covid update bulletin issued last night, the Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group acknowledged the pressure hospitals across its area were under but stressed cancer and other urgent operations would go ahead.

It added: “However, we are now pausing non-urgent elective services. This will allow staff to move to support the increased number of covid-19 patients.

“Initially this will be for a two-week period. We will keep this under weekly review and will contact individual patients where appointments need to be rescheduled.”

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Source: HSJ, 8 December 2020