19 ops cancelled each day due to lack of capacity in NHS

More than 19 planned operations have been cancelled a day on average since the start of the year because of capacity issues in the NHS.

The latest figures show 512 operations were scrapped in May due to a lack of space or staff, up from 490 the previous month but below this year's high of 704 in January.

A total of 2,912 planned operations were cancelled between January and May due to capacity reasons, an average of 19.2 per day.

Scottish Labour's health spokesman Anas Sarwar said: These official figures once again reveal the extent of the SNP's mismanagement of our NHS.

An average of nearly 20 operations are being cancelled every day so far this year - that's almost 3,000 patients since January.

This is simply unacceptable. The SNP has left our NHS staff under-valued and under-resourced, while patients are facing delay after delay.

It is clear that SNP Health Secretary Shona Robison is now totally out of her depth - she created this crisis and she can't be the one to fix it.

Nicola Sturgeon must reshuffle her Cabinet and get back to the day job of fixing the mess the SNP has made of our NHS.'