Cancellation of urology operations

Abstract

PurposeTo establish the reasons for surgical cancellations in a urology department and to provide suggestions for their reduction.Design/methodology/approachData for all patients who were cancelled between September 2004 and February 2005 were collected to determine the reasons for cancellations and the number of procedures cancelled on the day of surgery.FindingsA total of 175 procedures were cancelled in a six‐month period, comprising 14.1 per cent of all elective operations scheduled. Of these, 25.7 per cent were cancelled on the day of surgery. The main reasons for cancellations were patients being unfit for surgery (20 per cent); patient reasons for cancellations, such as the date being inconvenient (20 per cent); operations no longer being necessary (16 per cent); and the surgeon being unavailable or unable to operate (10.3 per cent).Originality/valueIt is believed that at least 26 per cent of all cancellations are avoidable with simple strategies such as effective communication between surgeons and booking office staff. Other methods to reduce the number of cancellations are presented.