Mum's anger after 10-year-old daughter's operation cancelled for fourth time as no beds available at Chesterfield Royal

Mollie Ellis and her daughter Maya turned up at the hospital in Calow last week for her daughter to have a tonsillectomy operation.

Maya has been suffering with on-going tonsillitis for the last three years and was due to have her tonsils removed in December 2021.

After waiting in a corridor for over an hour they were told the operation had been cancelled.

Mollie said: "Another patient's mum came marching out absolutely furious and said they've cancelled all the operations because there aren't any beds. Her daughter was about six or seven and she said this was the third time it had been cancelled.

"Eventually they came to let me know it was cancelled due to lack of beds. I just asked why they didn’t ring up all the parents to let them know in the morning. When you're having to drag your little kids out of bed at the crack of dawn it isn't nice."

This is the fourth time Maya's operation has been cancelled since last December.

Mollie, of Youlgreave, said: "She recently had her 20th bout of tonsillitis. These bouts normally necessitate three days days off work and school for us both and endless courses of antibiotics. My daughter's mental health deteriorates with every bout and cancelled operation.

"Her tonsils are enlarged all the time. When she has tonsillitis she can't swallow, she's sick and dehydrated, she can't even swallow calpol. Altogether she has probably had up to three months off school because of it and it's happening all over - so many children are living miserable lives because they have things wrong with them that could easily be sorted out."

She added: “I'm at my wits’ end. Chesterfield Royal Hospital has spent millions revamping the hospital. It's beyond ridiculous.

"We’re now having to face potentially months of recurrent tonsillitis until she gets a new appointment.”

Berenice Groves, Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officer at the Trust, said capacity in the hospital continued to be carefully managed but the hospital is seeing high demand for care at this time of the year.

She added: “Sadly some cancellations are necessary for a number of reasons including a shortage of beds.

“Our cancelled operations rate is 0.7 per cent compared to one per cent nationally, though we do know this can further be improved and it’s never our intention to cancel any planned procedure.

“We do recognise it can be difficult, especially for little ones, to have their procedures changed and we are working hard to prevent as many cancellations as possible. We need people to support us in this by only coming to our Emergency Department when they really need to and returning home as soon as clinical safe to do so, so as not to take up the needed beds.”