‘Third cancellation devastating blow’

Caroline Morgan was due to have major surgery on Wednesday. When she arrived at Victoria Wing she was told her operation had been cancelled because of insufficient bed capacity.

She had been warned that the operation had a six- to eight-week recovery time so she had arranged to take that time off from her job at the airport.

It was the third time the operation had been cancelled and she described it as devastating.

‘It’s horrible, you build yourself up, and there’s a lot to do beforehand, even just little things like getting all the shopping and making sure my kids are sorted. My partner and whole family had re-organised themselves

for me.

‘I live on painkillers every day, sometimes when I pick my little one up I’ve got to put him down because it pulls on my lower abdomen and the pain is terrible.

‘I had the joy of coming back to my children on Wednesday, but I’d shed so many tears prior to this because I was really scared about going in.

‘It’s a general anaesthetic and things can go wrong, although I’ve got a very capable surgeon and I knew I would be in the best hands, but there was still a lot of anxiety.

‘I don’t want to make a fuss about it, but I want to raise awareness of the impact that cancellations have, and other people who have had their operations cancelled need to know it’s not just them, they’re not alone, this is happening across the board.’

There are currently 1,479 islanders waiting for operations, or 1,754 if private patients are included.

Covid-19 has exacerbated the waiting list, but another issue is that care homes are full and this has a knock-on effect on operation cancellations.

Last week there were 27 people stuck in hospital waiting for residential or nursing home beds to become available, and further patients were waiting for care in the community help so they could return to their own homes.

The build-up of hospital patients who would be better suited elsewhere limits the capacity for people who will need post-operative care.

Ms Morgan’s health problems started after complications with a Caesarian birth in 2019 left her with abdomen pain and excessive bleeding.

She was given monthly stomach injections and was then advised by her surgeon that the only way forward was a full hysterectomy.

Now she has been given a provisional date next month for the surgery, although she has been warned that it could be postponed again.

Luckily her work was keen to take her back and rearrange time off, but Ms Morgan said she felt her life was in limbo.

‘To get that sort of support in place again will be hard, and the other thing that I’m thinking is it could be cancelled again, is there any point in getting someone in to help? Is there any point in making that much effort again? Just to be told on the day “go home”.

‘The operation would have been the start of the end of my problems, next year would have been a fresh start. The devastation has been like a whirlwind.’