Girl, 14, could be left unable to walk after brain surgery cancelled three times

A14-year-old girl could lose the ability to walk after her brain surgery was cancelled three times as NHS children’s services are stretched to breaking point.

Piper Miller, who has severe autism, needs urgent surgery to remove fluid on her brain that if unaddressed could also leave her unable to control her bladder.

But her operation has been pushed back three times in the past month due to emergency operations taking priority and severe short staffing made worse by junior doctors’ strikes.

Her mum, Toni Milner said the delays had had a “heartbreaking and gut-wrenching” effect on her daughter whose anxiety is “sent through the roof” each time she is told she is not having her surgery.

Piper’s story comes as NHS data uncovered by The Independent reveals at least 340 life-saving children’s operations, such as transplant and lung surgery, were shelved from April to December 2022, while 763 emergency operations were refused due to a lack of intensive care beds.

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Source: The Independent, 16 July 2023