Urgent operations all done this year
Hospitals in Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells have not had to cancel any urgent operations in the last year, new research suggests.
Information from NHS England shows other health providers in England have cancelled more than 200 important operations during the same time period.
Cancellations can happen due to shortages of beds or staff, plus operations running over time and administrative errors.
The figures come as the winter weather is expected to put more pressure on NHS services.
As part of its winter plan, on Monday, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust (MTW) transferred routine operations such as ear nose and throat procedures and some forms of bone and joint surgery from Pembury to the County Town to free up beds for seriously ill patients.
They also prepared extra morgue capacity to cope with additional deaths.
Emergency admissions are at an all-time high at about 900950 and bosses fear this could rise to more than 1,000, making it increasingly likely it will run out of beds.
Some drivers will also receive training in using 4x4 cars to cope with sub-zero temperatures expected after Christmas and other plans include running a seven-day pharmacy service, and increasing the number of staff receiving flu jabs.
A spokesman for MTW said: “Patients who do not wish to have their surgery at Maidstone can opt to have their procedure at Tunbridge Wells after these temporary changes are no longer in place at the end of March 2018.
“We will make every effort to minimise disruption to our patients.”
The chief executive of NHS England, Simon Stevens, recently warned ministers that waiting times would continue to rise unless more money was put into the health service, after the Chancellor Philip Hammond promised £350 million in the budget to help this winter.
In January this year, A&E departments at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells admitted 3,428 patients, up 17.5% from 2016.
It meant several planned procedures had to be cancelled, but the trust began running additional elective surgery lists to cope with the backlog.