"Operation cancellation"

My mother has been waiting on bladder/bowel surgery for 4 years. She has apparently been on a waiting list for this full time but during this period has met a handful of woman who have had the same surgery by the same surgeons and they have not waited the same length of time for this. She has had 4 pre-assessments in the lead up to the operation which have all lapsed because she has not been given a date.

Finally she gets a date to go for her surgery after 4 years of waiting. She arrives at Wishaw General at 10:45am to be at the ward for 11am, the nurse checks her into the ward. She then looks at her phone to see she has a voicemail message to say her surgery has been cancelled at 10:30am. 

She had to alert the nurses on the ward to this as they had not been told anything about it. Whilst she waits to find out what is happening she is told that the surgeons cannot do her operation anymore as there is no beds for her. She was told numerous times whilst waiting that she is the longest person on the waiting list and has waited more than 1500 days.

She has been sent home with no idea of when her surgery could be and needs to continue living her life planning last minute things as she waits for a surgery date. During this wait her symptoms get worse than what they already are. The surgery scheduler is unable to give her a new date as well, but the surgeons tell her they are doing surgeries in March. So we now don’t know where she sits on the waiting list for this surgery as apparently she is top of the list for it but yet she is told they are doing the same procedure in a few weeks.

This has played a massive part on her mental health for 4 years whilst she suffers the symptoms getting worse daily. Now she needs to go through the struggle mentally of preparing herself for life changing surgery to have been cancelled and no hope of a new date. She has organised she life for the next 3/4 months around her recovery from this operation to now have to re arrange things.

No one is able to give us answers and just told she needs to wait to be contacted. Totally poor planning from Wishaw General hospital. We understand there is emergencies etc, but to wait 4 years on a surgery is absolutely absurd and poor management from NHS Wishaw.