Disgusted David: ‘It’s outrageous’
14:17, 25 Feb 2026Updated 14:18, 25 Feb 2026
David Umpleby
A dad claims NHS delays left him unable to get surgery on his back for at least five months – and he was forced to pay over £8,000 to go private with the SAME surgeon so he could “keep” his job. David Umpleby, 40, has been signed off work since November due to chronic back pain caused by two herniated discs.
Medics recommended he undergo surgery to repair the issues that leave him in “agony” and struggling to walk – but he was told the operation would not be available before April due to budget pressures.
The health and safety manager says that with his employer’s sick pay due to run out by April, he was forced to borrow £8,217 to have the procedure at a private clinic this week.
The surgery is due to be done by the same surgeon who would have done the operation on the NHS.
David said: “I feel so let down. You pay your taxes, the NHS have said ‘you need this operation’ and literally because of money, I can’t get it done. My employer’s been really supportive but no one’s going to put up with you not doing anything for 12 months, so I’m almost spending £8,000 to keep my job. I could be on a train with someone who had the operation on the NHS, but I can’t purely due to my postcode. It’s outrageous.”
David has suffered back pain “on and off” for around 10 years but nothing like the “absolute agony” that started while driving back from a day out in November 2024. He had popped his back out when lifting a radiator two days before but says it “didn’t really hurt immediately”.
On the way back from that trip with wife Donna, 39, and 12-year-old son Harry, the pain hit him suddenly.
David, who originally shared his story with Talk To The Press, said: “By the time I got home I couldn’t get out of the car.”
After spending days having to crawl around the house on his hands and knees, David was taken to hospital. Doctors suspected herniated discs but that was not confirmed until after an MRI scan in October of the next year.
Come November 2025, David felt a burst of hope when a spinal surgeon at Ramsey Health Care, Fulwood Hospital recommended surgery to mend the chronic pain.
“I was in the most positive place ever,” he continued. “I thought ‘we’ve got something tangible now, it’s not just me’. (I was) going into Christmas like ‘right, I’ve got a surgeon, we’ve got a plan’.”
David expected to be given a date for the operation shortly after but when two months passed with no update, he called the private clinic set to carry it out on behalf of the NHS.
He was told the provider had been asked to restrict treatments to NHS patients for the rest of the financial year – meaning he would not receive an appointment until at least April 2026 with an August appointment most likely.
Soon after David, who had painstakingly continued to work since the injury, was signed off due to worsening symptoms.
In the meantime, he has spent £5,000 on chiropractors and had to take a cocktail of medication including omoprezarol, praxin, co-codamol and tramadol just to get through each day.
He is now unable to drive or sit up for long periods – both essential to his job – while doctors warn his painkiller intake is not sustainable long-term.
NHS trusts across England have taken similar cost-cutting measures – leaving thousands of patients facing longer waits for surgery.
Health chiefs say patients with the “highest clinical need” will be prioritised for operations – but David claims he should fall into that category.
Requesting a probe into his case by Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, he said: “I would not be spending money I do not have unless my condition was serious and debilitating. These treatments were not optional luxuries — they were necessary to allow me to walk and function.
“If I were genuinely not a clinical priority, I would not be enduring this level of pain, functional limitation, financial hardship, and loss of employment. The decision to categorise me as non-priority appears inconsistent with the clinical reality of my situation. This decision is simply unacceptable.”
A spokesman for Lancashire and South Cumbria’s Integrated Care Board said: “As we approach the end of the financial year, activity management plans have been put in place, which have resulted in the delivery of some procedures being postponed.
“We are in the midst of agreeing these plans with a range of providers in Lancashire and South Cumbria and we are aware that some patients have received messages that are not in line with the current situation. We would like to reassure these patients that their procedures will go ahead, however it will be later in the year.
“While we cannot comment on individual cases, these procedures should be postponed rather than cancelled, and patients whose appointments are affected will be contacted directly with updated information.
“We apologise to those patients that have been directly affected, and we understand that it can be very worrying and frustrating to have a procedure postponed. If a patient finds that their symptoms are worsening, then please contact the care provider you are booked in with or your GP.”
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