During the pandemic, and beginning in March 2020, routine planned operations were paused to allow our NHS to focus on patients with COVID-19 and to minimise transmission of the virus.As services have remobilised, the number of patients listed for surgery has increased, therefore the number of cancelled operations increased in parallel.The latest data for NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde shows that in July 2024, of all cancelled planned operations, just 1.6% were cancelled for capacity reasons, down from 2.1% in July 2021, while 5.7% were cancelled either by the patient or for clinical reasons.We have also seen planned activity in NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde rise from 4,238 in July 2021 to 4,798 in July 2024 – a 13.2% increase.When a patient’s operation is cancelled, I expect NHS Boards to liaise with patients to find a suitable date as quickly as possible in order to ensure disruption to the patient is kept the minimum. S6W...