Cancer patient, 43, fears he will die as Queen Elizabeth Hospital surgery delayed by pandemic

‘I was told the cancer will spread if they take no action – this stalling could cost me my life’

A cancer patient fears he will die after his vital surgery was delayed because of the pandemic.

Craig Stevens was diagnosed with Grade 3 skin cancer last month and, before Chrismas, he was assured surgery would take place at Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital this month.

But surgeons this week told the 43-year-old there was now no indication of when it would be carried out. 

He says they told him they are used to getting theatre availability once a day but theatre slots were becoming increasingly scarce due to demand.

The University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, confirmed some procedures could be delayed “due to the large and increasing number of very sick patients we are caring for”.

Craig, who lives in Edgbaston and works in financial services, has lodged a formal complaint but said he feared the delay would cost him his life.

He said the complaint was not against the doctors or surgeons but about the failure to manage the situation.

He told BirminghamLive: “I was told the cancer will spread if they take no action and operate. This stalling could cost me my life.

“I am shocked, appalled, and worried to death about my prospects going forward. I have been turned away from the hospital with no hope and date of treatment and operation.

“I have written a letter of formal complaint to the hospital.

“This is not a complaint against any of the doctors or surgeons I have seen, it is about the failure to manage this situation, which I consider to be gross negligence. Basically, they are putting my life at risk.

“There must be lots of other people in the same position as me. I know we are in the middle of a pandemic but Covid is not the only disease which is taking people’s lives.”

Craig was diagnosed with grade 3 skin melanoma on December 7. The cancer is in his lymph nodes and under his arm and neck.

He said two surgeons assured him on December 17 his operation would take place in January due to the severity of the cancer and a 31 day target from diagnosis to treatment.

But he said he was told on Thursday, January 7, that no date was available and there was no indication as to when it would take place.

A spokesperson for University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust said: “We are working to ensure urgent treatments and cancer surgery are maintained as far as possible for patients, however some procedures and surgical activity may be delayed due to the large and increasing number of very sick patients we are caring for.

“We regret that any procedure must be delayed and apologise for the understandable distress this can cause.”

Source: Birmingham Live By Andy Richardson

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