Teenager with scoliosis faces delay for spinal surgery

A mother has expressed her distress over the prolonged wait for spinal surgery for her 14-year-old daughter, Jessica, who has scoliosis. The teenager, from Hackness, near Scarborough, was scheduled for an operation to treat her condition in September, but it was cancelled with less than 24 hours' notice.

Jessica's condition has caused her spine to become s-shaped, resulting in "really painful" symptoms. She described the pain as feeling like being stabbed in the side of her chest, and said it was difficult to attend school due to the discomfort.

Jessica was added to the NHS waiting list for spinal fusion surgery in August 2025, after a private consultation. The family had already travelled to Leeds and paid for hotel accommodation when the surgery was cancelled. Her mother, Rebecca, said she was shocked by the short notice cancellation, which was attributed to staffing problems.

Six weeks after the cancellation, and following contact from the BBC, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTHT) offered Jessica a new operation date at the end of January. Rebecca said she had been frustrated by the process of trying to rearrange surgery and the effect of the long waits on Jessica's health. She noted that Jessica's condition has worsened, affecting her ribs, walk, and stance.

NHS data shows that waiting lists for surgery have increased at 10 hospital trusts in North, South and West Yorkshire. In August 2026, there were more than 63,000 cases awaiting treatment across 11 surgical specialties, compared with almost 48,000 in August 2021. More than half of these cases had waited longer than the 18 weeks patients should expect from their initial referral. However, there have been some improvements, with the proportion of cases waiting longer than 18 weeks falling from 60% in August 2023 to 55% in August 2026. The number waiting more than a year has also fallen by almost two-thirds since 2021, although more than 2,800 cases were still waiting longer than 52 weeks in August 2026.

Tim Hiles, chief operating officer at LTHT, apologised to Jessica and her family for the short notice cancellation and said the trust was working urgently to ensure her surgery takes place as soon as possible. He explained that the trust receives referrals from across Yorkshire and Humber for this specialist surgery and that consultants prioritise the most urgent cases. He acknowledged the impact of the cancellation on Jessica and her family.