Sharp rise in hospital cancellations 'shameful'

Overall, there were 28,593 hospital cancellations last month, this compares to 23,549 during the same month last year and 25,118 in January, 2023.

New figures which show there were 5,000 more hospital cancellations in January compared to the same month last year have been described as "shameful".

Cancellations of outpatient appointments, surgeries, and other procedures also jumped by almost 20,000 last year, when compared to 2023.