Ms George says delays could be 'lessening her chances'

The hospital near Cardiff has apologised, and has given an assurance that it is trying to find the money to fund extra intensive care beds.

Singer and musician Siwsann George, who lives in Abercynon, near Pontypridd, with her husband and 12-year-old son, has been waiting seven weeks for an operation for bowel cancer at Llandough Hospital.

Ms George - who sang with the folk band Mabsant - is still waiting to hear when she will finally undergo surgery.

She has been told that surgery could eradicate the cancer, but delays could be lessening her chances.

"There is quite a good chance at this moment to get rid of the cancer," she explained.

"But it is in the lymph glands, so the more I am hanging around waiting for an operation, the more risk there is of it spreading somewhere else."

'Wonderful' surgeon

Ms George has nothing but praise for her medical team. Her operation for re-occurring bowel cancer has been cancelled twice in the past seven weeks because of a lack of intensive care beds.

"I have a wonderful surgeon, but every time he gets his team together, he ends up having to come and tell me that I can't go down because there is no IT care," she explained.

Ms George said that each time an operation was planned, her surgeon had to assemble a team of two vascular surgeons, a neurologist, and an anaesthetist.

"I have no quarrel at all with the medical staff - they are all at the end of their tether.

"This bad management is unnecessary. There have been huge advances in medical science, in what people can do in operations, but if the basics are not there, there is not any hope of those advances being of any use to anybody."

The Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust apologised to Ms George and said her operation would be rescheduled as soon as possible.

'Priority given'

In a statement, the trust added, however, that it had "a duty not to start an elective procedure unless we can be sure that the necessary and appropriate post-operative facilities are available".

The statement added : "Within the trust - as throughout the UK - there is, on occasion, a shortage of intensive care beds and priority always has to be given to emergency cases over elective cases.

"It is, however, hoped that the Trust can find funding and staff, before long, to provide an additional two ITU beds - which will ease the shortage.

"In the meantime, Ms George's operation will be re-scheduled as soon as possible and everyone at the trust hopes that there will be no further delays."

Conservative health spokesman Jonathan Morgan described the case as "the most harrowing story" he had heard.

"The fact that Ms George has coped so well in the face of such an appalling situation is a true credit to her, and her family," he added.

"The fact remains that no one should have to suffer in this way, simply because there are not enough intensive beds."

Earlier this year, BBC News Online reported how a woman awoke from anaesthetic to find that her cancer surgery had not been carried out.

Jayne Taylor, from Baglan in south west Wales, came round at Singleton Hospital in Swansea to find the operation for cervical cancer had been cancelled.

Medical staff said there was no high dependency bed available for her, which forced them to postpone the theatre work at the last minute.

The operation was rearranged for later in the week, but her husband John said he had not had a satisfactory explanation for what happened.

Singleton's doctors blamed the postponement decision on a high rate of emergency cases at the hospital, and apologised to Mrs Taylor.

It was the second time Mrs Taylor, 35, has had her operation delayed after being diagnosed with cancer three months ago.