ONE of the region’s biggest hospital trusts says it will continue with planned operations over Christmas despite national guidance suggesting they should be cancelled.

In a letter to NHS trusts, chief executive of NHS Improvement, Jim Mackey, said the focus needed to be on emergency patients at a “critical” time.

He said they should cease most planned operations and activity – also known as elective care – over Christmas to ensure enough beds are available.

However a spokeswoman for South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which operates the James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, said: “We have planned our resources well in advance of this time of expected increase in demand and there are no plans to cancel all elective surgery over the Christmas period.”

The trust was one of 37 across the country who reported that for at least one day last week they were at ‘level three’ on an operational pressures scale, which means “major pressure”.

The spokeswoman conceded that winter was a challenging time in terms of bed availability and “we are no exception”.

The letter, seen by the Health Service Journal (HSJ), said: “In preparing for managing winter pressures, it is recommended that all providers ‘pace’ their elective work by introducing elective breaks where trusts cease most in-patient elective activity and focus on treating emergency activity and non-admitted patients.”

County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust suggested it already avoided planned procedures over the festive season.

It said: “Every year we have a winter plan in place so that we can be as prepared as possible for the pressures which we know can arise at this time of year.

“We know that many patients do not want to have planned procedures over the holiday period which creates capacity and means we can focus on urgent and life-threatening operations.

“Our staff are working incredibly hard to manage pressures and ensure that we continue to deliver the best care possible.”

North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust failed to respond to a request for comment.

An NHS spokeswoman said: “Many hospital trusts routinely wind down elective activities in the run-up to the Christmas and New Year period, as patients do not wish to be in hospital over the festive period and those who are medically fit for discharge want to return home.

“Any cancellations should be kept to an absolute minimum and decisions should always be taken using appropriate clinical reviews to ensure patient needs are met.”

:: Flu-affected patients in North Yorkshire have been advised to look at other ways to manage their symptoms before making an appointment with their GP after surgeries in Hambleton, Richmondshire and Whitby said they were experiencing added pressure.