Girl with facial tumours forced to wait for vital operation due to doctors’ strikes and NHS bed shortage

A 14-year-old girl suffering from tumours on her face has been forced to wait for an operation to remove them after it was repeatedly cancelled due to doctors’ strikes and a lack of beds.

Phoebe Weston suffers from a genetic condition, neurofibromatosis, which causes non-cancerous tumours on the outside of her body and has been waiting for a second round of surgery to remove the remaining growths and excess skin since October.

Her first operation at London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital was cancelled twice, just days ahead of the junior doctors’ strike last July and a second time in September due to a lack of NHS beds.

The family has not been given a new date for the latest operation and she is unable to have specialist medication to prevent further tumours until it’s carried out. The longer the surgery is delayed the more tumours may grow.

Her father Iain Weston, 57, made a plea to the British Medical Association and incoming government to “sort it out” and “stop playing games” as he fears future strikes will lead to more delays. He also said the NHS must communicate better with patients who are facing delays.

Have you been affected by the doctors’ strikes? Email rebecca.thomas@independent.co.uk

Speaking with The Independent, Mr Weston, said it was heartbreaking to watch his daughter wait for an operation as she faced a difficult time in school.

“Preventing anyone from receiving treatment is cruel and especially children,” he said. “She’s been fearless after the [first] operation, but she’s putting her life on hold because we never know when the [next] surgery is going to come.

“You can imagine the comments that she gets on a daily basis. It is heartbreaking. She has always loved school and we have seen a distinct change in that when the surgery was cancelled. It’s like she’s been thrown a lifeline then it’s been pulled away from her.

Due to the ridicule Phoebe receives the family avoid going into their town centre in Oldham, Mr Weston said.

Her story comes as junior doctors began a five-day strike on Thursday during the hottest week of the year, with potentially tens of thousands of medics off work.

On Wednesday, The Independent revealed Labour’s leader Sir Keir Starmer’s tough stance on strikes, warning he would not cave in to BMA demands of a 35 per cent pay increase for junior doctors. However, shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said on LBC radio that contacting the BMA would be his first priority.

The BMA has said that restoring junior doctors’ 26 per cent pay cut would not have to happen in one go and could be a “journey”.

Last year, The Independent revealed at least 20,000 children’s operations and appointments were cancelled during NHS strikes. Overall 1.4 million operations and appointments have been cancelled.

However, patients are also battling everyday cancellations, with 77,000 planned operations cancelled in 2023-24 in hospitals in England. Meanwhile, the children’s waiting list has increased at a far higher rate than adults, prompting doctors’ concerns that children were being deprioritised.

A spokesperson for Great Ormond Street Hospital said: “We are very sorry for the delays Phoebe and her family have experienced and for not following up on their most recent enquiry. Our communication should have been better and we will address the issues they raised.

“Our teams have worked hard to reduce waiting lists since the pandemic. In some areas like plastic surgery, where there is a lot of demand, there has been a reduction but the list is still too long.

“We understand how difficult it must be for families who are waiting and, while we must always prioritise urgent and emergency care, we are also prioritising the scheduling of care for patients that have waited a long time.”

The BMA was approached for comment.