Nursing shortages are delaying spinal operations

Nursing shortages are contributing to children waiting up to three times longer for spinal surgery than pre-pandemic, a top surgeon has claimed.

Chris Adams says up to one in four operations are cancelled at NHS Lothian, with staffing the main reason.

Mr Adams also claims that some children are not being put on waiting lists as early as they should be.

NHS Lothian disputes some of Mr Adams' statements but says "significant pressures" are affecting waiting times.

The senior clinician, one of Scotland's three paediatric spinal surgeons, said he was speaking out of behalf of spinal patients and their families

The surgeon's claims appear in a new BBC Disclosure investigation into Scotland's NHS, which reveals that some children are waiting up to three times longer than pre-pandemic for spinal surgery, with some waiting more than a year. At least 51 out of a possible 190 planned spinal surgeries at RHCYP were cancelled at short notice in 2022, with nursing shortages understood to be the main cause

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Source: BBC News, 7 March 2023