ABOUT 25 patients due for operations at the Royal Derby Hospital are pulling out at the last minute every week.
Uncertainty about whether or not to have the treatment and confusion that they are even having the operation are among reasons why people choose to cancel, according to hospital bosses.
They say they want to cut down on this problem as they attempt to reduce the number of patients waiting too long for their routine surgery or treatment, such as hip replacements.
People are meant to be treated within 18 weeks of a referral to hospital for elective operations.
But the city's hospitals trust says more than 1,500 are waiting over that time.
In May, it said waiting lists for some treatments were among the highest they had been for years.
Sue James, chief executive of the NHS trust, said: "We carry out about 3,200 routine operations each month so, in theory, you could invite those in who are waiting the longest for their operation over a fortnight.
"But it's not that simple for many reasons, including the fact the numbers of those waiting are changing – increasing and decreasing – every single day and week.
"One thing we can do is reduce the amount of people who, when we ring up, say they don't want their operation after all.
"I think one of the biggest reasons for this is, in the past, people would be waiting years, not weeks, for their operations and there's a mentality to get on the list early so people can have an operation when they need it.
"It then comes as a bit of a surprise to them when they are suddenly called up for it sooner than they expected."
Mrs James said one of the ways the trust planned to reduce the backlog was to have a medic calling patients much earlier before their operations.
She said: "They'll be asking the patients things like, 'Do you know what operation you are listed for?' and 'Has anything changed regarding your health since we last saw you?' and so on.
"It sounds a simple thing but, by starting that process sooner, we can find out much sooner if people are fit for their operations and want them much earlier."
Chiefs at the city's hospitals trust said in May that they had seen a 10% increase in the number of people being referred for routine procedures in the past year.
They said they had received £6 million from the NHS Southern Derbyshire Clinical Commissioning Group to cope with the extra workload.
Mrs James said this money had not yet been spent but the plan was to clear the backlog of waiting patients by December this year.
