Reasons for cancellation of elective operations at a major teaching referral hospital in Jordan.

Cancellation of elective scheduled operations leads to an inefficient use of operating room time and a waste of resources. This prospective records-based study aimed to determine the rate of and reasons for cancellations of scheduled elective surgical operations in a major teaching referral hospital in Jordan. Over a period of 12 months, cancellation was recorded in 382 (3.6%) of 10 485 scheduled elective surgical operations. Day unit cancellations accounted for 27.5% and inpatient cancellations for 72.5%. Patient-related reasons, administrative and medical reasons accounted for 31.4%, 30.4% and 38.2% of all cancelled operations respectively. The most common patient-related reason for cancellation was patient non-attendance. The most common administrative reason for cancellations was unavailability of hospital admission beds. Although the cancellation rate was low in comparison with the reported rates worldwide, reductions might be achieved by adopting some important interventions, especially better bed utilization.