A DAD who has been waiting for more than a year for a hernia operation was refused surgery moments before it was due to take place – as he had been with his wife and kids.

Darren Sargeant, from Basildon, says he was told to isolate “as best he can” in the lead up to the planned operation on Sunday.

​But on the day, when he revealed although he had stayed at home since his Covid-19 test, he had still been living with his wife and children, doctors said the risk of him doing that were too great to allow the operation to go ahead.

The 40-year-old said: “It’s just a joke. I was sent to Orsett Hospital to have a Covid swab three days before the op. When I got to Basildon Hospital on the Sunday I had to fill out some forms including a Covid one.

“Within five minutes of handing the forms back, a doctor came out and took me straight to the ward and I had bloods taken and one of the surgeons marked my stomach to prepare for surgery.

“Then I was asked to get changed into the gown and stockings, and was told I would be going down to have the anaesthetic.

“Then the co-ordinator came out and said I was deemed an amber risk because I hadn’t isolated from my wife and kids or worn a mask in my own home around them.

“He then said that the pre-assessment at Orsett was done by sub-contractors that are not employed by the trust.”

The hospital has since apologised to Mr Sargeant and is attempting to rearrange the surgery.

He was supposed to have the op in March just as the country went into lockdown, but says prior to that, he had already been waiting more than a year.

The dad-of-three, said: “My hernia popped out while I was in Manchester and I was going to have an operation straight away but it would have meant that I would have been stuck up there as I wouldn’t have been able to drive.

"So it was all transferred to Southend Hospital but it all took a long time.”

A spokesman for Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, said:“We apologise for the miscommunication with Mr Sargeant regarding the self-isolation rules surrounding his surgery.

“We have taken the necessary steps to ensure all patients receive the correct information going forward. The Trust is now in contact with Mr Sargeant to re-arrange a date for his surgery.”