Health Research reveals heavy cost of cancelled knee operations

A BRISTOL football legend has spoken out as part of research which has deemed cancelling knee replacement surgeries as "unforgivable".

- 

Former footballer Peter Aitken is among those impacted by 11th hour cancellations

As well as the economic cost, cancelled procedures come at a "great cost" to patients, researchers from the University of Bristol said.

Peter Aitken, the only man to have captained both City and Rovers, was a patient and public contributor for the research. The 71-year-old described how his operation was cancelled at the "11th hour" while he sat waiting in his hospital gown.

He said: "My knee replacement operation was originally booked for November 2023, but was cancelled after my pre-op appointment because of blood-thinning medication I was taking at the time.

"It was rescheduled for March 2025, and I attended hospital on the day.

"But, after a wait of seven and a half hours, when I was ready with my gown on, I was told at the 11th hour that the operation would have to be cancelled because they ran out of time."

The study examined cancellations across six NHS hospitals in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, over five years between April 2018 and March 2023.