A leading surgeon has called on Scots to adhere to the current stay-at-home advice so that planned surgery can restart sooner.

Amid a surge in the number of people hospitalised with covid-19, health services in Ayrshire and Arran yesterday became the third health board forced to postpone all non-emergency surgery.

In London rising pressure on the NHS has even prompted the cancellation of essential cancer operations.

The President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh has today said hopes of restarting elective surgery depend on whether people adhere to lockdown rules.

More than 100,000 planned operations had been postponed in Scotland by October last year because of covid-19.

Concerns are also mounting that patients who have had elective treatment cancelled or postponed in recent months may head to emergency departments for help at a time when seasonal norovirus and flu hit their peak and as covid-patient capacity reaches its limits in Scotland’s hospitals.

Professor Michael Griffin says the next eight weeks are ‘crucial’ in weathering the storm as hospitalisations keep rising.

“The next two months are going to be incredibly difficult,” he says, “but if we all knuckle down and play our part in curbing the spread of the virus, we can prevent our health service from becoming overwhelmed so that vital surgical work which is currently on hold will be able to resume sooner rather than later. 

“Many surgeons have been working on the frontline over the last ten months, putting their health and lives at risk in order to help with the response to the pandemic, by taking on a whole host of other duties within their hospitals. 

“While they are more than happy to help in any way they can, they are desperate to get back to their normal role of performing operations, as they know exactly what the delay waiting for these procedures can have on patients.”

There have been numerous warnings over the backlog of surgeries, including some cancer operations, that has built up over the past ten months.

Professor Griffin added: “We know that almost 50% of cancer surgery has now been cancelled in London as a result of the pressure on its hospitals, and we expect this extremely worrying situation to spread across large parts of the UK as covid cases and hospitalisations continue to rise. 

“The majority of non-urgent surgery is currently suspended all over the UK, and the surgical waiting lists continue to grow. 

“The sooner we can get this virus under control, the sooner surgeons will be able to resume their surgical work and start to clear this backlog. However, this all hinges on each of us following lockdown rules. 

“Minimising our social contact is the most effective way of stopping the spread of the virus.  We need to stop and think before every single interaction we have outside of our own household, and consider whether it is absolutely essential or not.  

“I appreciate that this is an extremely difficult time for so many, but the end is now in sight as the rollout of the vaccination programme progresses, so if we all steel ourselves and follow the guidance to the letter, we can look after our NHS and ultimately help get surgery back on track.”

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