The goal of the prospective observational multi-centre survey was to establish the rate and main reasons for elective surgery cancellations in three university hospitals in the Czech republic in 2008. 66 358 operations were scheduled as elective procedures in the three hospitals. In total 1248 cases (1,88%) were cancelled - 740 cases (59,3%) due to organizational reasosns and 446 cases (35,7%) due tu medical resons.