A CANCER patient did not eat for 13 hours in preparation for an operation – only to be told it had been cancelled due to a lack of hospital beds.

Trevor Hall, 64, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last month.

He was told he would only have about a year to live, unless a growth from his pancreas was removed and he underwent chemotherapy.

He was due to undergo an operation to remove a third of his pancreas, gall bladder and part of his stomach on October 6.

Mr Hall and his daughter Kate Jordan, who flew from her home in Germany to be with him, stayed overnight in London to be at the Royal London Hospital for 7am as instructed.

He had not drunk anything since 4am, nor eaten since midnight.

At 8.15am, a consultant explained the operation and the risks – including the chance Mr Hall may not survive – and told him there was no bed available at that point.

Father and daughter claim it was not until about 1.30pm they were told the operation would not take place.

Mrs Jordan said they should have been warned sooner there was a chance it would not go ahead.

She said: “I’m not disappointed, I’m absolutely disgusted with them and their treatment towards my dad.”

Mr Hall, of Abbots Road, Colchester, has been given a new date for surgery of Thursday, November 6.

He said: “I have no criticism of the team, but it’s the hospital. If they could get the beds, they would treat more patients early and probably save more lives.”

Mr Hall said he was still optimistic, but has had to come to terms with his diagnosis and that evenwith the operation, his life expectancy has been severely shortened.

However, he said he was concerned about the delay in his treatment.

Mr Hall, who returned to Essex in January after seven years as a pig farmer in Kenya, said: “They were quick to get me in for the operation initially, so where does this leave me now?

“It doesn’t matter how I eat or what I dowith my body, between now and November 6 if the cancer grows, it will grow.”

A spokesman for Barts Health NHS Trust, which runs the Royal London Hospital, said: “We would like to apologise for any additional stress this has caused Mr Hall.

“A recent significant increase in the number of emergency operations performed at the trust has seen some patients prioritised above planned operations, in order to ensure their safety.

“We can confirm that Mr Hall’s surgery has been rescheduled.”