AN OPERATION was cancelled at Princess Royal University Hospital (PRUH) yesterday after the heating failed.

The hospital confirmed a pump in the boiler house suffered problems yesterday morning – and said it’s an ongoing issue.

A friend of the individual booked in for the surgery, who didn’t want to be named, branded the situation as "ridiculous".

He said: "A friend of mine’s in hospital and she had her operation cancelled because there’s no heating.

"It’s the third or fourth time this year and I’m worried about it. They don’t seem to be getting to the root cause - it’s ridiculous.

"My wife’s devastated she couldn’t have the operation. She rang me up really upset."

PRUH reported one elective procedure was postponed as a result of the failure and said problems have been occurring "intermittently", adding an investigation's underway.

A spokesman said: "The heating at the hospital failed on the morning of Thursday 27 February due to a problem with a pump in the boiler house.

"Since we acquired the Princess Royal in October last year, we have experienced some ongoing problems with the heating system. We are investigating the cause of the problem so we can secure a long-term solution."

He also stressed the number of operations cancelled's been small and steps have been taken to reduce the impact.

He added "patient health is not at risk" and said back up heaters, extra blankets and more hot drinks have been provided when the heating’s down - while no emergency or urgent care was affected at any time.