OVER 300 operations were cancelled in Ayrshire in 2016 because hospitals did not have the resources to cope, new figures have revealed.

The figures from ISD Scotland showed that 323 operations were cancelled across Ayrshire hospitals because of a lack of capacity, equipment or staff to carry them out.

Neil Bibby MSP for West Scotland said: “Every single day NHS staff tell us that they are under pressure and under-resourced. 

“Now we see that close to 323 planned operations were cancelled last year because hospitals across Ayrshire and Arran did not have the capacity to cope.

“A decade of SNP mismanagement of our NHS means that patients are being let down because hospitals are not getting the support they need.

“NHS staff are performing as best they can under difficult circumstances, but the lack of support from the SNP Government makes their job even harder. It’s no wonder that only one third of NHS staff think they have enough colleagues to do their job properly.

“The way to take the pressure off of our hospitals is to properly invest in social care. Instead, the SNP-Green budget means more local government cuts on top of the £1.5 billion slashed by the SNP since 2011.”

But MSP for Cunninghame North, Kenny Gibson, said that while the number of cancellation was “regrettable”, it could have been for various reasons ranging from staff illness to bereavement.

He added: “NHS Ayrshire and Arran staff constantly strive to minimise such instances and deliver the best service possible. When Labour was in power, these figures were not even kept. Now they are, the focus is on continuous improvement, despite steadily increasing demands on the NHS.

“The facts are crystal clear – in the current financial year, NAC received £279,443,000 in support from the SNP Government. In the new financial year beginning in April this will grow to £304,358,000, an 8.9 per cent increase; the highest in Scotland!”

Liz Moore, Director for Acute Services, said: “In 2016, from a total number of 2,342 scheduled operations which did not go ahead, 14 per cent (323) were as a result of cancellation due to an emergency operation taking priority, essential staff not being available due to unexpected absence, equipment not being available or the unavailability of an appropriate bed. 

“This category of cancellation also includes any cancellation due to a theatre session over-running as a result of a preceding operation taking longer than expected.

“Every effort is made to ensure cancellations are kept to a minimum. All cancellations are reviewed on a weekly basis and action taken where appropriate to reduce the number of cancellations on scheduled operating lists.”