HEALTH bosses in Bolton have criticised an NHS report on operations waiting lists.

NHS Improvements is due to publish a report on how 280,000 additional non-emergency operations could be carried out each year if schedules were better organised.

In a report published by the BBC, an analysis of 2016 data for operating theatres across 100 NHS trusts in England found more than two hours was wasted each day on the average waiting list and this could be resolved with better planning.

However, Bolton NHS Foundation Trust chief operating officer Andy Ennis has argued that a number of outside factors can throw off even the best laid plans.

He said: "We work hard to use our theatres efficiently and effectively, including using pre-operative checks and careful listing of operations.

"This can be affected, however, by many different things such as surgery not going ahead due to the patient not being fit at the last moment, or an operation taking less time than planned but there not being time to fit in another.

"The biggest causes however, are cancellations of routine elective surgery to make way for urgent and frequently lifesaving emergency operations, or there not being a bed available post operatively due to the number of patients in the hospital at that time."

Between January, 2015 and December, 2016 last year Royal Bolton Hospital manager 6,8627 elective, non-emergency, procedures with an average waiting time of just over nine weeks from the date of referral to operation.

At the trust board meeting on Friday, Mr Ennis criticised the NHS Improvements report as not 'sensible' for its view that hospitals could fit in more operations.