Cancer patients are having their operations cancelled as hospitals struggle to cope with the winter crisis, senior doctors have warned.
Surgeries for cancer patients, which are normally protected by guidelines requiring rapid treatment, are being called off in increasing numbers as hospitals face staff and bed shortages.
Ian Eardley, vice-president of the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS), said that members had reported an increasing number of cancellations within the past week and a shortage of beds was contributing to the problem.
“The number of cancelled operations has been going up,” Mr Eardley told the BBC. “The NHS is under tremendous pressure: more and more patients are going to A&E and there is more difficulty in getting patients home.”
His remarks came after another senior doctor,