Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital cancels more operations

Surgeries were cancelled at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford

Non-urgent operations have been postponed at an Oxfordshire hospital for an eighth day.

Surgeries at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford were postponed for four days last week.

While Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust intended to return to normal on Tuesday, it said continued pressures meant this was not possible.

Paul Brennan, director of clinical services, admitted the news was "disappointing" for patients.

He added that non-urgent operations would resume on Wednesday.

"It has been another busy weekend... this is not a decision we take lightly and I would like to apologise to patients directly affected," he said.

'Very worrying'

All affected patients will be contacted, the hospital said.

Labour MP for Oxford East Anneliese Dodds said the hospital had not been under such pressure "for many, many years and that's very worrying".

She added: "People have an expectation in our country about having world class healthcare.

"If they're having their operations postponed, that's not the kind of situation we should be facing."

The trust said it was working with partners in the local health and social care system to alleviate the problem.

Outpatient and diagnostic appointments, urgent and cancer surgery are unaffected.

The cancellations do not apply to the Churchill, Nuffield, or Horton hospitals.

The John Radcliffe Hospital also cancelled non-urgent operations in January, costing the health service at least £2.6m, and again in January 2017.