Non-urgent operations delayed to save £6m

NHS Sheffield, which has a budget of almost 1bn and is responsible for funding healthcare for the city's population, has already made 21m cuts this financial year.

But yesterday the health trust said new calculations showed that a further 6m must be found to balance the books, meaning medics and managers faced "deferring" some treatments.

Dr Richard Oliver, GP and joint clinical executive chairman at NHS Sheffield, said: "We are proposing deferring patients for treatment for non-urgent orthopaedic, dermatology and orthodontic surgery.

"Other areas – which are under discussion with doctors – may include non-urgent diabetes, rheumatology and oral treatment as well as a review of some non-urgent specialist procedures.

"We know this will cause concern for patients who are booked to see a hospital consultant in these areas, or who are expecting to be referred, but would like to reassure them that if they are in urgent need, they will still be seen.

"For those which are non-urgent, their GP will discuss their options with them."

The trust said its "difficult financial position" had been caused by growing demand for hospital services, a rising bill for people who need health care at home and "no foreseeable significant increase in NHS funding".

Trust bosses said this meant the current way of providing health services in Sheffield was no longer sustainable and "needed to be planned in a different way".