As the doctors have to undergo chaotic criminal records, the operations on seriously ill children are being cancelled.

Pediatric surgeons often have to travel from hospital to hospital at short notice to treat rare conditions. Due to the overwork surgeons are unable to continue looking after his patient when the child’s family moved house.

A lack of Government guidance is damaging patient care, according to letter written to The Times by the Presidents of the Royal College of Surgeons, the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health and the British Association of Pediatric Surgeons.

“Operations and clinics scheduled for vulnerable children are being delayed and cancelled across the country while willing and available experts go through multiple time-consuming bureaucratic checks”, according to the letter.

The Government’s vetting and barring scheme prevent many from sharing their specialist knowledge.

“It is absolutely right that people's backgrounds are checked if they are working with children. The problem is that there needs to be some flexibility in implementation. Is the NHS a national service or not? One check should be enough. If you have had one enhanced Criminal Records Bureau check by one NHS trust”, said a spokesman for the Royal College of Surgeons.