Hundreds of operations cancelled at Wakefield's Pinderfields and Pontefract hospitals

Figures provided by Wakefield MP Simon Lightwood showed 309 operations cancelled by the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust last year, because there weren’t enough staff to perform them, a lack of beds, and equipment

failure.

Mr Lightwood’s office said it “laid bare the national crisis in the NHS”.

The figures show 104 operations were cancelled due to a lack of staff available at the Mid Yorkshire trust.

In total across England around 30,000 operations were cancelled due to staff shortages.

The Labour Party said the data, collected from freedom of information requests made to NHS hospitals across the country, showed the impact of 12 years of underinvestment by the Conservative government.

Mr Lightwood said: “Despite the hard work of dedicated NHS staff, patients are being forced to wait longer for vital operations because the Conservatives have failed to train enough staff over the past 12 years.

“Having operations cancelled causes huge disruption to patients and prevents them from being able to get on with their lives.

“Labour will tackle this problem at its root. We will train a new generation of doctors and nurses, so patients get the treatment they need, when they need it. We will abolish non-doms to pay for it because patients need treatment more than the wealthiest need a tax break and if you live and work in Britain you should pay your taxes here.”

Staff shortages were the most common reason given for cancellations by hospitals, accounting for 1 in 5 of all operations cancelled for non-clinical reasons in 2021/22.

The information request also found that seven operations were cancelled at Mid Yorkshire because of a shortage of beds, 21 because of equipment failure, 36 because of administrative errors, 125

as theatre lists overran, and 11 because an emergency case took priority.

Labour said it would address staff shortages and ensure patients can get treatment when they need it by:

· Doubling the number of medical school places, training 15,000 doctors a year

· Training 10,000 new nurses and midwives each year

· Doubling the number of district nurses qualifying every year

· Training 5,000 new health visitors