IPSWICH Hospital has today pledged to get even tougher on cancelled operations after new data showed it had begun to tackle the problem.

IPSWICH Hospital has today pledged to get even tougher on cancelled operations after new data showed it had begun to tackle the problem.

Last year the hospital was criticised for telling 187 patients their operations could not go ahead at the last minute between April and July 2008.

This year the Heath Road hospital cancelled 69 operations in the same period for non-clinical reasons, a reduction of 63 per cent.

Jan Rowsell, hospital spokeswoman, said the hospital was thrilled with the success, but stressed it wanted to go even further.

She said: “We said that cancelling so many operations last year was simply not acceptable. One is one too many and we want to reduce it even further.

“We always said that reducing the number of cancelled operations was a top priority and we are very pleased to see these figures and that we are already going in the right direction.

“The reason for the changes are about how we manage beds in a better way.”

She added that the opening of the Garrett Anderson Centre last year had also helped because the new state-of-the-art centre has dedicated elective beds that can only be used by patients undergoing planned operations.

The good news for the hospital comes as it continues to tackle long waiting lists in many areas.

It is failing to treat enough people within 18 weeks of them being referred by medics.

NHS Suffolk and the East of England Strategic Health Authority have put pressure on Ipswich Hospital to sort out the problem, and it has outsourced operations and employed foreign medics in an effort to turn the situation around.

Is enough done to prevent cancellations? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk.