"No kit on site to allow operation"

My mother in law had her gall bladder removed over 30 years ago but over the last 7 months has experienced extreme pain in her abdomen and it was discovered there duct that would have led into the gallbladder was full of gallstones. They tried initially to remove them but could t get them all. They have since repeated the same procedure and cannot remove the last one. 

The hospital has advised there is another operation they can try but the kit is not available and needs to be ordered from another hospital and they also need a surgeon to be able to do its well. They have advised though that they will not order the kit until another patient requires the same operation. 

This means she is at home in extreme pain (as pain relief does not help!) for who knows how long till some other poor person also ends up in pain.

While the staff on the wards have been great it’s appalling that a pensioner is expected to stay at home in agony, unable to eat and drink properly due to the pain, with no end in sight and need to wait on someone else becoming ill so she can get the help she needs!