Sutton's sick will face an uncertain Christmas as winter pressures force St Helier Hospital to cancel routine operations.

Only emergency patients and those with urgent conditions will be admitted as the hospital tries to avoid buckling under the strain of soaring emergency admissions.

The problem is under daily review and patients whose operations have been cancelled are being offered the earliest possible dates.

But the situation will deal a hard blow to Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust, at a time when it falls under increasing pressure to claw its way towards government targets.

Published figures released this week show there was a backlog of 3,225 patients in October all awaiting operations, falling short of its target by 31 patients.

The numbers waiting for ear, nose and throat operations, as well as those in general medicine, surgery and gynaecology, were all rising. However, modest inroads have been made into paediatric dentistry and trauma and orthopaedic waiting lists.

Worst still were the figures for outpatients waiting more than 13 weeks. In October, treatment for 2,078 outpatients was still on hold a problem which had worsened over the preceding six months. This puts the trust a shocking 179 per cent behind target.

The trust says it has already begun to tackle this by opening extra speciality clinics and injecting cash into opthalmology and trauma and orthopaedics.

A spokesman said: "The majority of this recovery action plan will take place during December through to February. The trust was able to reduce the number of MSW Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth residents waiting over 13 weeks to 1,871 at the end of November, a reduction of 207 on the October position."

The figures released in the MSW health authority agenda, however, do show a downward trend in particularly long waits. In March, 181 patients had been waiting for more than a year for an operation. By October, there were 87 waiting for 12 months or more and 17 still on the list after more than 15 months.

Referring to the £520,000 cash boost expected to solely tackle the waiting list problems, Carshalton and Wallington MP Tom Brake said: "Adhoc one-off grants cannot disguise the facts. The hospital is under-funded and this can only work as a sticking plaster."

He added he was concerned winter had only just begun and the hospital could be hit by a severe flu epidemic or a spell of very cold weather.

Local health watchdog Community Health Council said cancellations are a concern but welcomed falling waiting times in accident and emergency.

December 14, 2001 15:00