Following the news that non-urgent medical procedures could be delayed or cancelled altogether as part of NHS England’s plan to manage the Coronavirus outbreak, Kate Goodman a senior litigation executive at leading medical negligence law firm Fletchers Solicitors has spoke to us outlining the various options available to patients.

Kate told us: “If your operation is cancelled due to the Coronavirus, there are a number of things you can do.

“The NHS has a maximum waiting time for non-urgent referrals of 18 weeks. This means that from the date of your referral by your doctor, you should be seen and preferably, undergo treatment within 18 weeks. This target however, is not always met and different hospitals have different waiting times for surgery. It is not uncommon for a hospital to have a waiting time of twice this for some procedures. It is also foreseeable that the 18 week target may well be suspended in the wake of a Coronavirus outbreak.

“If your procedure is cancelled on the day of surgery, then you should be offered another date for the procedure within 28 days, or they can fund the treatment at a date and hospital of your choice. If the hospital does not comply with this, you have a right to complain to PALS at the hospital, or the Clinical Commissioning Group that referred you for treatment.

“However, it is more likely that, if there is a widespread outbreak, surgeries will be cancelled before the date of surgery. In this situation, there is no right for you to be offered an alternative within the 28 days specified, though if your waiting time is outside the 18 weeks, you have a right to ask the hospital or Clinical Commissioning Group to move your care to another hospital. However, if there is an outbreak, the likelihood that this will result in your procedure taking place any sooner is remote. It is likely that any delays caused by Coronavirus would be a reasonable course of action.

“In these circumstances, you are likely to be reliant on complaints to PALS and the Clinical Commissioning Group. If you have already experienced a significant delay well in excess of the 18 weeks target, and you suffer a further significant delay as a result of Coronavirus, there is a possibility that your wait will have become so excessive as to become a breach of duty of care. If you have suffered unnecessarily as a result of these delays, then Fletchers Solicitors will be able to advise you on whether you may have a medical negligence claim.”