A WOMAN has been left unable to walk normally after emergency surgery was delayed because a Glasgow hospital was battling a sewage problem.

The woman, who has a young child, was transferred to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital site after she was diagnosed with a rare and serious spinal condition that requires surgery within 24-48 hours.

However she was discharged home after a few days because there was no theatre available at the Institute for Neurosciences,which is based at the QEUH.

Surgery did not take place until almost two weeks later because the ageing unit was battling a long-running sewage problem that led to planned operations being cancelled and surgery farmed out to the private sector.

Only emergency surgery was being carried out but the board did not classify this patient as an “absolute emergency.”

An investigation found the woman has been left with “significant” mobility problems as a result.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said that, “regrettably” the unit was experiencing “significant challenges” at the time of the patient’s diagnosis.

The patient, who has not been identified, was suffering from Cauda Equina Syndrome, a rare and serious neurological condition that affects the bundle of nerves the base of the spine.

An inquiry by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman was critical that the patient was not transferred to another hospital for the surgery and that she was not warned about the risks of delaying the operation.

The incident happened on March 26, 2016 at a time when the unit had been hit by recurrent sewage leaks.

Five theatres were closed and all elective surgery was cancelled at the unit. A £7million project to build a new theatre suite at the unit is underway.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has been ordered to apologise to the patient and has been given a deadline to implement a series of recommendations after three complaints related to her care were upheld by the ombudsman.

The inquiry found: “It was unreasonable for the board not to have provided the surgery, or arranged for this to take place at an alternative hospital site.

“It was likely that the delay would have impacted on Mrs C’s poor outcome following the surgery.”

A spokesman for NHSGGC said: “Regrettably at the time of this patient’s diagnosis in 2016 we had significant challenges with our theatres in the Institute of Neurosciences.

“This resulted in us having to prioritise patient needs and some patients waited longer for their surgery than normal including this patient.

“A multi-disciplinary team will now meet to discuss the recommendations and how these can be implemented.”