One in eight patients who had their operations cancelled at the East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT) over three months were still waiting to be treated four weeks later, figures show.

The Patients Association said delayed surgeries are distressing for patients, and called on the government to provide the NHS with more resources to reduce cancellations.

NHS England figures show 117 pre-booked operations at ESNEFT were postponed on or after the day the patient was admitted between April and June.

Rachel Power, chief executive of the Patients Association, said: “It can be distressing and frustrating for a patient when a surgical procedure is cancelled.

“This can be made worse if the patient doesn't know when the procedure will be rescheduled.”

The NHS aims to offer all people who have routine surgery cancelled at the last minute for non-clinical reasons another date within 28 days.

But of the patients who had procedures cancelled at the trust, 14 had to wait more than four weeks for a new date, giving a breach rate of 12 per cent.

This was down from 18 per cent in the first three months of 2022, but above the rate of 5.2 per cent over the same period in 2019-20, before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Neill Moloney, deputy chief executive of ESNEFT, said: “It is our job to make sure everything is in place to offer safe, high-quality care to any patient who is having an operation at ESNEFT.

“In time, we want to improve our ability to see more patients by increasing our theatre capacity. But all our staff are working hard to make sure all operations happen on the day they are due to go ahead.

“In exceptional circumstances it may be necessary to reschedule or cancel an operation.

"The reasons why can include rescheduling for a patient’s benefit so we can see them sooner, so we can guarantee the right team and facilities are available and, on rare occasions, because of staff absence.

“We always aim to make our patient experience a stress-free one, so we apologise to anyone who has waited longer for their operations because of a cancellation.”