Fears from cancer patients as some operations put on hold
A number have been sent letters to say their cancer is not urgent enough to be operated on.
Some cancer patients in Scotland have been sent letters by the NHS putting their operations on hold.
We have obtained one letter sent to a patient, who wants to remain anonymous, in Fife. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in July 2019 and had expected his operation to remove it to go ahead, as advised, this month.
His son told us, "Ultimately I'm worried this could be fatal for my dad. He wouldn't be a coronavirus statistic but he could end up collateral damage.
"He won't be having any scans or anything like that either to check how the cancer is progressing for the foreseeable which is very worrying.
"This wasn't a personal conversation with a doctor or healthcare professional of any kind. This information just appeared out of the blue in a letter through their door.
"There needs to be more support for people who are affected by the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. They've been given a diagnosis and so far no treatment.
"They're being left for months dealing with the unknown and that is having a big impact on my parents' mental health."
Health Secretary Jeane Freeman says, "We have always said that whilst we are looking to create bed spaces within our NHS estate, we do that by pausing primarily our elective care work but urgent care should remain and be prioritised in a hospital setting.
"The individual clinical judgement may be that the risk of the operation in the circumstances is too great against the risk of postponing the operation for some time.
"It is always a clinical decision about whether or not an operation in any circumstance goes ahead or not. I would hope that when those decisions are made there is the fullest possible discussion with the patient involved so they understand."