A CHEPSTOW pensioner has spoken of her agony after four operations to repair a hernia were cancelled at the 11th hour.

Denise Raine, 76, of Welsh Street, Chepstow, was due to have surgery at the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, but was told on three occasions that there were no beds available on the day of the operation.

On the fourth she was told her operation was cancelled due to an emergency operation.

Mrs Raine was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and underwent an operation to remove part of her bowel at the hospital in April 2011.

Then in June she noticed a lump two inches in diameter close to the scar where the internal stitches from the operation had parted causing a hernia, which needs repairing.

“I was very active before but now it is restricting my mobility and I’m in a lot of discomfort,” said Mrs Raine.

The operations booked for February 13, March 5, April 23 and April 30 were all cancelled, leaving Mrs Raine extremely distressed.

“I was still recovering from the original operation and am in pain all the time,”

she added.

“My daughter-in-law took time off work to take me to hospital each time and I was all packed and ready to go and put my two dogs in kennels, so there was a lot to organise.

“On the last occasion I was only told at 5.35pm that there was no bed on the day of the operation. It is unacceptable, very upsetting, and has left me deeply distressed and in tears.”

After we contacted the Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust for comment, Mrs Raine received a phone call to say her operation will go ahead on June 18 and she was assured a bed will be available.

“It’s still no guarantee it will go ahead,” added Mrs Raine, who has asked for written confirmation.

Health board sorry

PAUL Hollard, interim chief executive of Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, said: “We would like to apologise to Mrs Raine.

“While we cannot comment on individual cases due to confidentiality reasons, our concerns team are aware of her case and are speaking with her.

“We will only delay a patient’s procedure when absolutely unavoidable as a last resort and (this) will usually be done only after a full assessment of clinical need to make sure the patients in the most urgent care are seen first.

“In such cases we make every effort to make sure those patients are seen as soon as possible.”