Troubleshooters sent to 'failing' hospitals

Troubleshooters are to be sent into hospitals which repeatedly cancel operations, the Department of Health announced today.

Three of the poorest-performing hospitals in London and the South-East are among those which will get a manager and £75,000 in investment to help tackle problems.

A total of 3,220 operations were cancelled in London between July and September last year and 860 were not rearranged within a month. The new £8.5million scheme is aimed at hospitals which got a zero score in the star rating system introduced last year.

Those to get extra help include Barnet and Chase Farm Hospital NHS Trust, where an investigation was launched yesterday into how almost 3,000 patients were left waiting up to a year for ultrasound tests. The trust cancelled 215 operations between July and September.

Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust, which was called "the worst in the country" after a damning report by government inspectors last year, will also get help to cut down on cancelled operations.

A troubleshooter will also be sent to Darent Valley Hospital, near Dartford. The £117million hospital received a zero star rating only a year after it opened.

Figures published by the Department of Health today show wide variations between NHS trusts in the rates of operations cancelled at the last minute - from 18per cent at the top, to 0.1per cent at the other end of the scale. A full-time manager will be sent into the 12 trusts across the country which received a zero star rating, and hospitals will have to meet specific targets.

In 2000-2001, about 78,000 patients in England had their operations cancelled late.

Health minister John Hutton said today: "Going for an operation is a traumatic experience. It is unacceptable that in the 21st century so many patients are having their surgery cancelled at the last minute.

"Troubleshooting managers will look at the cause of problems and see what can be done to eliminate them. While chief executives will be accountable for the performance of their hospitals, we will give them the support they need to turn their performance around."

The initiative is led by the NHS Modernisation Agency. In addition to the £75,000 for the relevant hospitals, all trusts will get up to £35,000 incentive funding to help them reduce cancellations.

The project will also look more widely at how hospitals are using operating theatres, and at issues such as use of day surgery and planning.