Plymouth brain tumour op cancelled twice by 'under pressure' hospital

Plymouth Hospital NHS Trust wants to close its waiting list to people needing routine spinal surgery

A woman's brain tumour operation has been put back twice at a hospital because of "extreme pressure".

Lynne Roper, 54, from Yelverton, Devon, was diagnosed with the tumour in February.

Operations at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth were cancelled last week and this week which she says has been "very stressful".

The hospital, which is on red alert, said cancelling operations was "a last resort".

Former paramedic Ms Roper said her care after she was diagnosed had been "outstanding".

'Extreme pressure'

She was earmarked for an operation on either Wednesday, Thursday or Friday of last week, but she was told there were not enough beds.

Ms Roper was then told to return earlier on Friday 11 March, but said she was again told there were insufficient beds.

"It's absolutely appalling," she said. "But you can't blame the doctors and nurses for something that is outside their control."

The hospital revealed this week it was putting elective spinal orthopaedic surgery on hold to cope with demand.

It has been on red alert since last month because of patient demand.

The NHS uses a national internal alert system based on the colours green, amber, red and black to rank how busy a local health and social care system is.

A spokesman for Derriford apologised for the cancellations and said the hospital was "under extreme operational pressure" due to "a substantial increase in emergency admissions".

The spokesman said: "Rescheduling an operation is a last resort for us and we recognise the distress and inconvenience that this causes our patients and their families."