Women in pain facing long delays for NHS surgery

Two women experiencing long delays waiting for surgery have spoken of their frustration as they try to cope with pain and discomfort.

Lesley Fraser and Jenny Morgan have been waiting for treatment since 2024.

Both have been in hospital gowns ready for surgery when their operations have not gone ahead at the last minute.

They have spoken out as NHS England figures show waiting lists for operations have fallen.

BBC Midlands Today has followed retired teacher Lesley Fraser from Stafford since July 2025. She has been waiting for spinal surgery at the Royal Stoke Hospital since August 2024, describing the situation as "soul destroying".

She was finally due to have her operation 13 months later, in September 2025. But a few days before she was diagnosed with gallstones. She was so worried about this further delaying her spinal surgery that she looked into paying privately for a gall bladder operation, money she could little afford.

Last November BBC Midlands Today played a clip of Fraser to the then health secretary Wes Streeting during a visit to Birmingham. She said on the recording shown to him: "If it was his mother … would he let her wait more than a year to have a back surgery that she desperately needs?"

The former health secretary said what she had experienced was "completely unacceptable" and said he would ask "the NHS" why she had been waiting so long.

Within weeks Fraser had her gall bladder removed in an NHS operation at Stafford Hospital.

Her spinal surgery was scheduled for last month (April 2026), and she was about to go into theatre when it was unexpectedly cancelled.

She was already on the ward and wearing a gown ready for surgery.

"If I phone I just get told I am not a priority which means I feel I am always going to the bottom of the list, so I possibly will never have this done. It is soul destroying."

The hospital has since contacted her and the BBC to say her operation has been re-arranged for June 2.

Katy Thorpe, chief operating officer of University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust, said: "On occasion planned operations have to be postponed at short notice due to unforeseen circumstances. We fully understand how distressing this can be for patients and their families, particularly after a long wait for treatment."

A Department of Health spokesperson said: "We are incredibly sorry for the poor experiences that Lesley has had whilst waiting for surgery. Whilst we are seeing vast improvements across the country and waiting lists coming down, stories like Lesley's are a stark reminder of the continued challenge ahead, as no patient should be forced to wait this long for treatment."

Elsewhere Jenny Morgan was told in December 2024 that a tumour on her arm needed to be removed.

Her operation was scheduled eight months later, in August 2025 at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

She was in the operating theatre when there was a change in plans for the type of anaesthetic she was expecting. And the surgery did not go ahead.

The 74-year-old, from Lapworth, said: "I'd worried about it, made arrangements for my dogs and everything and suddenly it's not happening and I was upset and worried and angry and all sorts of things. So I just had to ring somebody up for a lift and go home."

It was re-arranged for this month. But the day before it was cancelled.

She has a benign tumour called a neurofibroma on her upper arm which she said "presses on the nerves to my hand, affecting the movement of my fingers".

A spokesperson for University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust said: "We are sorry for the miscommunication and administrative error that has caused Ms Morgan distress and inconvenience while waiting for her treatment. We recognise this has been frustrating, and we are working to ensure her care can proceed as quickly and safely as possible."

NHS England said the waiting list for operations in the Midlands has fallen by 90,000. Of those,18,000 are at University Hospitals Birmingham.

But Morgan feels let down: "If it was life threatening, I'd probably have died by now. Thankfully it isn't."

The Government set a national target for 65 per cent of patients to be seen within 18 weeks for elective treatment by March this year. NHS England said earlier this month this goal had been achieved.

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