A south Wales man with a suspected cancerous tumour has had vital surgery to remove the growth cancelled four times because of a bed shortage.

David Thompson from New Inn near Pontypool, has been told the operation will not take place until the New Year.

A shortage of beds is blamed for the cancellations

The delay means that Mr Thompson faces a longer wait to discover if the tumour is malignant and if he needs to start chemotherapy treatment.

The delay has been blamed on a shortage of intensive care beds at the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport.

Mr Thompson was diagnosed with a tumour on his pancreas after suffering from jaundice.

He was due to have pancreatic duodectomy - a surgical procedure to remove the tumour which lasts between five and eight hours - on 5 December.

You build yourself up to something like this David Thompson, patient

But a shortage of beds meant the operation was cancelled.

The surgery was postponed a further three times on the 9, 11 and 12 December.

Mr Thompson said: "You build yourself up to something like this.

"To have it pulled away from you is terrible.

"But, I'm not the only one, I met a patient from Chepstow who had been in four times and sent home three.

"And three others were sent home with me - all because there's no intensive care beds," he said.

Anxious Christmas

Mr Thompson's wife Vivienne said that the family faced a worrying time over the festive season.

"We've gone through hell and now we are facing an anxious Christmas," she said.

"Three times he has been set up for major surgery in one week.

"Meanwhile, this growth is getting bigger and bigger," she added.

In a statement, Gwent Healthcare NHS Trust said: "Postponing an operation is something we always try not to do but sometimes it is inevitable because of the ever-increasing demands of emergencies on resources and beds.

"In Mr Thompson's case, his surgery requires access to an intensive care bed, that simply has not been available.

"The ICU unit at the Royal Gwent Hospital has been at capacity due to emergencies that require immediate attention.

"Every effort is made to ensure that patients like Mr Thompson who have their operations postponed, are treated as quickly as possible afterwards as beds become available."

In October BBC NewsOnline reported that the Royal Gwent Hospital was forced to cancel orthopaedic operations because of bed shortages.