"NHS cancellations"

Firstly I was given a surgery date for the mid April. Unfortunately that surgery was cancelled a week before due to the consultants annual leave; I understand this can happen.

Following this cancellation I was given a mid May appointment; this was also cancelled without reason a week before.

The appointments team asked if I would like to change this date to 2 weeks later at Trafford general, which I was very grateful for.

But that operation was cancelled just over a week before due to the hospital not being able to perform hysterectomies any longer. The date was changed again, now 6 weeks after the original date.

Finally after arriving at St Mary’s on the day at 7am, I went through all the routine checks to go ahead with the surgery, the surgery had been explained in thorough detail, risks and how it would be performed. At 10:30 I was waiting in a gown to go down to theatre when a member from the theatre team came to notify me that the surgery had been cancelled due to the theatre being out of use and I did not meet the criteria to be on the list that day. She assured me someone would call me that day to organise another surgery, but i didn’t hear anything.

After trying to get through for over an hour to someone who could help me, I was finally told the only date with was in mid July.

I hope you can understand this has been very difficult for my family, I am a stay at home parent to my daughter and my partner works full time self employed, he has avoided booking work in for 5 weeks now which has been very financially hard. Please understand it was very difficult deciding to go ahead with the hysterectomy as we don't have any family around to help us so my partner is having to book 2-8 weeks off work after my surgery potentially to care for my daughter, this is not very easily done.

We decided to go ahead with the op because I can not carry on the way things have been some weeks; I am bed ridden with pain and heavy bleeding needed to take such strong pain relief that I cannot care for my daughter when taking it. I have had several hospital admissions for pain.