Cancer patient fears death as hospital appointment cancelled amid junior doctor strikes

• ITV News Central's Callum Watkinson speaks to Richard Silvester who has been left in severe distress after his hospital appointment was cancelled amid the junior doctor strikes this week

A cancer patient from Nottinghamshire says he is "in despair" after his hospital appointment was cancelled amid the ongoing junior doctor strikes.

Richard Silvester, 84, is living with an incurable, rare form of cancer.

Following a failed operation, he has been making fortnightly visits to Nottingham's City Hospital for his immunotherapy treatment.

If that treatment works, at best, Richard will have two years left with his beloved wife, Pauline.

Speaking about his visits to the hospital, Richard said: "Every one of those appointments that I get is my lifeblood.

"I go there and I hope they are going to tell me something a little bit better. I hope and pray for my next appointment."

But he learnt his next appointment to talk about his treatment would be cancelled as he watched TV pictures of junior doctors on a picket line.

He said: "Placards and singing - slogans - quite happy it seemed. I wanted to get a card and I wanted to write on it 'which one of you wants to change places with me?'"

Richard has recently enjoyed building a relationship with his daughter, who he didn't know he had until last year.

As he treasures getting to know her, desperate to claw back the lost decades, Richard is aware and fearful of the passing days.

He said: "I thought my god this is going to help me, meeting a daughter.

"I mean can you imagine - she's 57 years old and I'd always wanted a little girl."

Richard and his wife Pauline believe NHS staff should be paid more, but they find it hard to square strike action with a desire to save lives.

Pauline said: "To take the step into industrial action is the part where it divides those who are looking for more money from those who are being treated for life-threatening illnesses."

Together, Richard and Pauline believe that the strikes have taken time away from families where time is the most precious commodity.

Dr Keith Girling, Medical Director at Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust, said: "We are sorry that Mr Silvester’s appointment had to be rescheduled and apologise for the distress that this has caused.

“As a result of industrial action, we have had to redeploy staff, which means a number of patients have had their appointments rescheduled.

"We are working hard to reinstate those appointments at the earliest opportunity.”

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