More elective operations were cancelled at the last minute by the University Hospitals of Bristol and Weston last year, recent figures show.

Meanwhile, the number reached a record high in England.

The King's Fund, a health think tank, said both short-term factors and "systemic" issues within the NHS are to blame.

Figures from NHS England show University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust cancelled 2,193 elective operations at the last minute for non-clinical reasons in the year to June.

It was up from 1,742 the previous year, and from 1,135 in the year to June 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Overall, NHS providers across England cancelled some 85,018 elective operations at the last minute in the recent year – up 7% from 79,757 in the year to June 2024.

It was the figure for the 12-month period since comparable records began in 2003-04.

But it only accounted for 0.97% of the 8.8 million elective admissions recorded in the year to June, which was in line with the year before.

Data collection was paused in April 2020 due to the pandemic and resumed in the last three months of 2021.

While the number of operations cancelled at the last minute has remained broadly similar to pre-pandemic figures, the proportion of patients not treated within 28 days of cancellation has increased.

Following the cancellations in the year to June, 22% (19,106) of patients were not treated within 28 days of cancellation, which NHS England requires of hospitals that cancel last minute.

Although this was down slightly from 23% the previous year, it was significantly higher than the 9% recorded pre-pandemic in the year to June 2019.

At University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, 16% (340) of patients with cancelled operations were not treated within 28 days last year.

In comparison, these figures stood at 33% (582) the year before, and 84 patients before the pandemic.

Danielle Jefferies, senior analyst at The King's Fund, said the figures are "not surprising".

She explained the growing level of patients facing long waits is due to short-term factors – such as growing waiting lists, strikes and seasonal pressures – and more "systemic" issues – including understaffing, a lack of beds and high rates of staff sickness.

She added: "It must be really hard for patients, because it means they are waiting even longer for their care.

"We know it's a physical struggle for them, and having to wait longer probably impacts their mental health as well."

Ms Jefferies called on the Government to resolve industrial action to avoid relying on fewer staff and prioritising emergency over elective care, and to address increasing elective care waits.

Rory Deighton, acute and community care director at the NHS Confederation, said: "NHS leaders and their teams have been working incredibly hard to drive down waiting lists and good progress has been made, unfortunately, however it is sometimes necessary to cancel a very small proportion of operations.

"Healthcare leaders know well the dismay this can cause to patients who can be left waiting in pain."

He said there are various reasons for cancellations, including rising demand for emergency care, which he said has been increasingly frequent since the pandemic.

"More than a decade of being starved of capital investment has also left much of the NHS estate with crumbling buildings or out-dated equipment which compromise patient safety and can often mean limits on how many operations can be performed," he added.

An NHS spokesperson said: "We fully recognise the impact any cancelled operation has for patients and NHS staff across the country are working hard to reduce waiting lists, with almost 1,500 more patients receiving treatment every day compared to last year, despite the knock-on effect from industrial action and a winter of record demand.

"But we know there is more to do reduce disruption to care for patients and NHS teams are continuing to reform and improve services to help reduce waits, with both fewer cancellations between April and June compared to last year and more patients being seen within 28 days of a cancellation."

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "This government is working to reverse more than a decade of neglect to our NHS, and despite unnecessary industrial action, we are making real progress.

"Waiting lists are down by more than a quarter of a million in just one year and we have delivered 4.9 million additional appointments, more than double the promised 2 million.

"Even though there are record numbers of people coming forward for treatment, we are getting on with the job of delivering for patients, with the lowest number of patients waiting more than 18 weeks for treatment in 3 years."