Cancer Surgery - FOI Response Register

Please provide the following information:

1.    The number of cancer surgeries that have been cancelled in the last five financial years (2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/2022, 2022/23).

The number of cancer surgeries that have been postponed in the last five financial years (2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/2022, 2022/23).

Please provide a breakdown by financial year, reflecting how many per year were cancelled or postponed.

If possible, next to each postponed/cancelled surgery please confirm if they have since gone ahead and been completed.

With regards to a breakdown by financial year, in accordance with FOISA s 16(1), NHS Shetland confirms that it holds the information requested but that it is exempt from disclosure under FOISA s 38(1)(b) as read with s 38 (2A) as the information constitutes personal data and disclosure would breach the confidentiality of the data subjects.

This is because the small numbers involved in combination with a specific year, knowing that it related to a cancelled cancer surgery, and whether that surgery later went ahead means that patients may be identified.

We can however provide overall figures for the 5 year period.

Please note that the procedure type is recorded but not the reason for the procedure other than in individual patient notes.  The data below is therefore based on procedures which are used exclusively for cancer patients.  Some procedures which are frequently provided to cancer patients are also offered to non-cancer patients, for example hysterectomy and colectomies.  

There were 4 procedures in this time period. 3 of the 4 procedures were subsequently performed and 1 was cancelled.