UP TO 15,000 operations could be cancelled from NEXT WEEK as NHS nurses go on strike, analysis has shown.
NHS Trusts have been told to tell affected patients their surgeries will be delayed by this coming Tuesday.
Hospitals have been told to reschedule appointments as soon as possible.
Cancellations which come about after Tuesday are expected to occur only in “exceptional” circumstances.
The delayed operations include hip and knee replacements, hernia repairs, cataract surgeries and cardiac procedures.
Eight in ten NHS trusts already fail to meet targets for seeing suspected cancer patients within two weeks of a GP referral.
And 60 per cent are failing to treat 96 per cent cancer patients within a month, NHS figures show.
It’s estimated more than 100,000 outpatient appointments will be affected, as 100,000 nurses will strike.
76 hospitals and NHS organisations will strike, with many worried of unprecedented pressures on emergency services.
Ministers are refusing the Royal College of Nursing’s demands for an 18 per cent pay rise.
RCN general secretary Pat Cullen, said: “Anger has become action – our members are saying enough is enough.
“We will no longer tolerate a financial knife-edge at home and a raw deal at work.”
