Frustration at last-minute surgery cancellation

Michelle Kelsey's gallbladder operation was cancelled at the last minute

A woman has said she is "furious and frustrated" after a complaint about her hospital treatment was dismissed.

Michelle Kelsey, from Taunton, had her gallbladder operation cancelled moments before she was due to be taken down to theatre because the surgeon advised a postponement after noticing "abnormalities" in her MRI scan.

A spokesperson from Practice Plus Group Hospital Shepton Mallet said: "It is our responsibility to prioritise patient safety and to respect the opinion of our experienced consultants."

However, a multi-disciplinary team that met to discuss the MRI scan afterwards concluded there was nothing abnormal in her results. She was finally operated on in October but the hospital said she had no grounds for complaint because there had been no damage or deterioration in her health as a result of the delay.

“While most gallbladder operations are straightforward, there are factors that can turn them into a potentially complex procedure, so we have a duty of care to review an MRI prior to surgery," the spokesperson for the Practice Plus Group added.

"It is very rare that an operation wouldn’t go ahead at this stage."

They also apologised for the inconvenience caused to Ms Kelsey.

Ms Kelsey's operation was cancelled at the last minute

In 2022, Ms Kelsey was due to undergo keyhole surgery to remove her gallbladder.

Due to long waiting lists at Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton, she said she was referred to Shepton Mallet Hospital in February of that year.

Her operation was initially delayed due to "abnormal blood tests" - something her GP assured her was common following a gallbladder attack, she added.

It comes after another patient, Abbie Hicks, from Axbridge in Somerset, was left in "unbearable" pain when her gallbladder surgery was repeatedly cancelled.

The 29-year-old was referred from Shepton Mallet Hospital when her condition became "too serious" for them to deal with.

She was originally due to be operated on in December 2023 but her surgery was not performed until 1 May.

'Meltdown'

After spending months going back and forth with "very little communication", Ms Kelsey underwent a pre-operation MRI scan.

She said doctors told her the results were "all fine".

Two weeks later, Ms Kelsey was at Shepton Mallet Hospital and waiting to go into to surgery.

Despite being prepared, the surgeon cancelled the procedure, citing "serious abnormalities" on the MRI scan as a concern.

He told her he had “never seen anything like it in his entire career”, and warned that a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer could not be ruled out - which is what Ms Kelsey's father died of.

The surgeon at Shepton Mallet Hospital cancelled the operation over "abnormalities" in Ms Kelsey's MRI scan

At the time of the surgery, Covid restrictions were in place and family and friends were prohibited to be on the ward.

“At this point, I had this meltdown," Ms Kelsey said.

"I was told this information when I was in a very vulnerable position being already prepped for surgery, suffering from nerves and with no support from my family available to process important and potentially life changing information."

In the following weeks, Ms Kelsey was referred back to Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton, where a multi-disciplinary team met to discuss her MRI scan.

They concluded that there was nothing abnormal in the results.

Ms Kelsey underwent the surgery in October.

She said the procedure went "smoothly" and the only issue was an inflamed gallbladder.

A multi-disciplinary team at Musgrove Park Hospital ruled that there was nothing wrong with Ms Kelsey's MRI results

An investigation into her experience at Shepton Mallet Hospital was carried out following Ms Kelsey's complaints.

The hospital concluded that no mistake had been made, and there were no grounds for a legal case as no further damage or deterioration to her health had been caused.

“We complained to the hospital and it went on for months," she said.

"They came back with various responses and they didn’t really answer our questions.

“It’s left me furious and frustrated, but we realised there’s nothing we can do and we had to let it go," Ms Kelsey said.