Covid disruption sees far fewer planned appointments offered to Mansfield and King's Mill hospital patients

Health think tank the Nuffield Trust has warned cancellations and fewer referrals during the pandemic mean people with treatable conditions may be getting worse.

NHS Digital data shows 499,605 outpatient appointments were booked at Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Trust – which runs Sutton’s King’s Mill and Mansfield Community hospitals – in the year to March, a 23 per cent drop from the previous year, when 644,865 were scheduled.

This was in line with the picture across England, where appointments fell 18 per cent to 101.9 million.

About 70 per cent of appointments booked at SFH went ahead, but 16 per cent were cancelled by the trust. The remainder were either not attended, or cancelled by the patient.

Guidance

Simon Barton, trust chief operating officer, said: “In line with national infection control guidance and social distancing and in consultation with clinical teams, we reduced the number of outpatients seen face-to-face during 2020-21, although there was an increase in the number of virtual and phone appointments offered.

“Over the past four months, we have returned the number of outpatients seen to pre-pandemic levels and across all of our planned tests and treatments are treating 98 per cent of the patient activity compared with pre-pandemic, even with infection control restrictions in place.

“We have also written to every patient on our waiting list, giving them the opportunity for a review if their situation has changed since their referral.

“We know some patients have appointments cancelled and rescheduled and are sorry for that.

“We’re working hard to minimise this, but also have to ensure patients with the highest clinical need are prioritised. This can sometimes lead to appointments being rearranged.

“The coming months still have some uncertainty around Covid-19 and usual increases in demand over winter, but we have plans in place to support the best possible care for our community.

“We would like to reassure patients we are always here for them and if they are concerned about any changes in their condition to contact us.”

Across England, 12.6m appointments were cancelled by hospitals in 2020-21 – 16 per cent more than 2019-20 and equating to 12 per cent of all booked slots.

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