elective

The inquiry also heard about the decision by the NHS to keep children out of the healthcare system unless essential and to pause elective procedures for children in March 2020.

Maxim Giacaman, 23, a medical student from Bethlehem, told the BBC he was unable to travel abroad for a key elective in his medical studies.

The Wye Valley NHS Trust has also raised concerns, with managing director Jane Ives telling a board meeting that 10,000 appointments or elective procedures would be affected there due to the knock-on effects.

“The coming back, to me, is what’s so important and inspiring” — especially because finishing her education was an elective rather than a requirement.

Push notifications will provide appointment reminders to patients to try to reduce the risk of no attendance - with around eight million missed appointments in elective care missed in 2023/24.