The government's spending watchdog has found that thousands of hospital operations are lost every year.

A report by the Audit Commission published today found that around 10 per cent of hospital theatre sessions are cut every year due to inefficiency.

Forum Response: Unison

Karen Jennings, health secretary at Unison, told ePolitix.com: "There is no need to use the private sector if the NHS uses its theatres more effectively. The issue is the management of those theatres.

"Valuable resources are being wasted on paying the private sector to do things when those funds would be better spent fixing up problems like these in the NHS.

"The Audit Commission report calls for NHS trusts to have better information, time management and staff planning for use of operating theatres. It is ridiculous that there are theatres lying empty. And that hundreds of thousands of operations have had to be cancelled because of management problems.

"Chief executives must grasp the nettle and make sure operating theatres are working efficiently. There are huge variations in the performance of hospitals and their theatres. It is like a lottery for patients requiring surgery. And that is unacceptable"