More than 220 patients a day are having vital operations cancelled because of the crisis in overwhelmed A&E units.
Royal College of Emergency Medicine reported that 672 elective care procedures were cancelled in November, while 6,335 operations were cancelled in October.
It said ‘unsustainable’ pressures linked to the casualty crisis and the collapse in social care was ‘impacting and derailing’ routine care, making it impossible to tackle the Covid backlog.
More than 220 patients a day are having vital operations cancelled because of the crisis in overwhelmed A&E units (File image)
This means that patients who require surgery to replace their hips or knees are now in further pain.
As the report relies on data collected from 50 NHS trusts and a third total, the actual number of cancelled operations will likely be significantly higher.
One in 13 people attending A&E in the past two months endured a ‘trolley wait’ of 12 hours or longer. Only 62% of patients saw within the target timeframe.
NHS officials claim that around 10,000 beds in hospitals are currently occupied by older people, who can be cared for in the community.
Dr Adrian Boyle, of the royal college, said: ‘The core of the issue is poor patient flow throughout the hospital and exit block caused by difficulties in discharging patients.’
The record-breaking 5.83 million NHS patients are on waiting lists for routine healthcare.