The £15,000 cost of Hartlepool and North Tees patients missing their hospital operations - in one week!

The news has come from officials at the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust.

They spoke out as non-urgent operations returned following a period of postponements because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

In an appeal to patients, they described how almost £15,000 was wasted on missed operations and many were caused by people not following national guidance to quarantine 14 days before surgery.

Orthopaedic surgeon Chris Tulloch, the Trust’s deputy medical director, put across the message for people to follow all guidelines and he did it in a very different way …. by sharing a photo of his wedding day.

He attached a message to it, saying: “You are cordially invited to your operation.”

He said: “None of us would consider missing a milestone event in our lives. We would do everything in our power to make sure we were there.

“So why would we do anything that might jeopardise something as important as a surgery date?”

Chris is pictured with his wife Lesley on their wedding day as they mark 43 years of marriage. He used it to highlight the importance of big days in a person’s life and said that includes operations.

“Operations transform lives for the better – for someone who has had something like knee or hip pain, surgery means they can live a life free from major pain and discomfort.

“We are appealing to anyone waiting for an operation to follow the recommended 14-day isolation period – this is so important for everyone’s safety and means your date won’t need to be rearranged.”

For anyone with a hospital appointment or a surgery date, Mr Tulloch has an important message of reassurance.

He said: “We know people have concerns about coming into hospital and we understand that. We have a number of measures in place that mean coming into hospital is extremely safe.

“These include staggering appointment times so patients don’t meet and creating ‘clean areas’ in the building.

“If patients are still too concerned then we can rearrange their appointments – but we are urging people to come in and have the treatment they need as soon as they can.”

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