"I'm in pain and feeling isolated"

This story has been posted by Healthwatch Tameside on behalf of a member of the public. We have their details and will forward any comments to them. They said…

I had been given an appointment for surgery to my knee arranged for the beginning of November . I arranged with my employer to have time off work because there is a long recovery period for this type of surgery. On this day the hospital cancelled the admission. The surgery was postponed 2 weeks. Once again the admission had to be cancelled the day before by the hospital, due to the surgeon having an accident. I was sympathetic to the reason, and I assumed that I would get a new date for the surgery and that it would be carried out very quickly. I was seen in a different clinic. A different procedure was suggested and a new date for the surgery to be carried out was given for mid December 2015. The day before the scheduled day this admission was cancelled by the hospital due to ‘winter bed pressures’. Another date at the end of January 2016 was given, but this time the operation was cancelled due to an issue with my blood. I have never had any adverse issues with my blood. A second blood test has been done and everything is fine, so what all that was about I don’t know. I am still trying to get another appointment for the surgery to be carried out. It is looking like it may be sometime in March or even later. Monday 1 February 2016 is when I would have been going back to work if the surgery had been carried out in the first place. In the meantime I have spent the last 3/4 month in pain, I have been unable to go to work. This has had a devastating effect on my financial situation. I have spent a lot time getting ready for the surgery only for it to be cancelled at short notice. This is causing a lot of emotional distress. My life has been put ‘on hold’ I have not been able to have regular contact with family and friends or carry out my usual day to day life. This is making me feel very isolated.