'Shocking scale' of cancelled NHS Scotland children's operations revealed

According to the statistics, provided by NHS Scotland in response to Freedom of Information requests, a total of 8,074 children's operations were cancelled between January 2019 and April 2023.

Last year alone, 1,927 operations were cancelled, including 660 in Glasgow. And the trend looks set to continue, with 621 children’s operations cancelled in the first three months of this year.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said the “shocking scale” of the cancelled children’s operations was “a badge of shame for this nationalist government”.

“Behind these figures are countless children and parents having to wait in pain and distress,” he said.

"Some of these operations will have been cancelled for good reasons, but many more will be because the staff and equipment to perform them simply isn't there.

“Years of neglect by this Government have led to chronic staff shortages, with communities across the country paying the price. How can [First Minister] Humza Yousaf look parents and patients in the eye?”

“Humza Yousaf’s NHS recovery plan has completely failed. We need a new plan which puts the experience and knowledge of NHS staff at the heart of it to bring local health services back from the brink.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The significant impact of Covid-19 since 2019 on the normal operation of the NHS cannot be underestimated.

“Some operations are cancelled for clinical reasons or because the patient cannot attend, and we have made it clear to boards that patients with the greatest clinical need should not have their operations cancelled.

“Where cancellations do take place, the large majority are routine procedures, although we recognise the impact this has on the patient involved. We continue to work closely with health boards to ensure patients that have had their operations cancelled are seen as quickly as possible.”

Public Health Scotland statistics, which the Scottish Government uses, do not differentiate between paediatric and adult operation cancellations.