Most hospitals have no operations at the weekend despite national backlog of 7.5 million procedures

More than half of hospitals close their operating theatres at weekends, despite the NHS backlog of procedures.

When it comes to planned surgery, like hip and knee replacements, 51 per cent of hospitals have no operating theatres performing these procedures at weekend.

This is based on a sample of 81 hospital trusts in England which responded to a Freedom of Information request.

The figures, supplied to Labour, also suggest there is a fourfold drop in planned operations on weekends compared to weekdays.

That is based on responses from 49 hospital trusts, which reported carrying out an average of 795 procedures on weekdays in 2022/23 compared to just 176 on Saturdays or Sundays.

It comes as an estimated 7.71 million routine hospital treatments were waiting to be carried out at the end of October, although this was slightly down from a record 7.77 million at the end of September.

There are more than six million patients stuck in pain and discomfort on waiting lists.

Dennis Reed, from Silver Voices, which campaigns to support older patients, said: ‘A lot of people across the country are in despair, waiting in continual pain for procedures and unable to work or go about their daily lives normally.

‘Weekend and out-of-hours surgery is very important to clear this backlog, which has gone on for so long, leaving many people desperate and frustrated.

‘We are in a crisis situation, so we need to be on a war footing, and that means operations during unsocial hours, potentially operations being carried out 24 hours a day.’

Labour has pledged to ‘ramp up’ weekend hospital appointments as the party attempts to pile pressure on Rishi Sunak over lengthy NHS waiting lists heading into Christmas.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has repeatedly said his party will pledge £1.1 billion to help cut the NHS backlog by asking doctors and nurses to work overtime at weekends and in the evening, which will be paid for by abolishing the non-dom tax status.

Labour has claimed this would allow the health service to deliver two million extra appointments a year, but think tanks and unions have warned staff are already overworked and could earn more by taking on private sector shifts.

Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting will join Sir Keir in a visit to a hospital trust in Yorkshire on Monday, where weekend clinics have been introduced.

Sir Keir said: ‘While the Prime Minister schemes in Westminster, chasing down gimmicks to save his political skin, waiting lists are growing and the NHS heads into yet another winter crisis.

‘Some hospitals are already blazing the trail with weekend working, but need a government that backs them to unleash the full potential of our health service.

‘The Prime Minister should put his pride and politics aside, change the rules protecting the wealthiest and prioritise patients over non-doms.’

A Conservative Party spokesman said: ‘Labour claim five different ideas can be “funded” from scrapping one tax status – but there’s a limit to how many times even Rachel Reeves can copy and paste the same policy.

‘Labour’s sums simply do not add up, and the Shadow Health Secretary has already admitted it.

‘On top of this, Labour’s dangerous commitment to spend £28 billion every year, whilst supposedly cutting debt, will push up taxes, fuel inflation, and mean less money for the NHS.’