War vet finally gets his eye op

David Price fought in WWII with the South Wales Borderers

An 84-year-old war veteran whose eye operation was cancelled three times has finally undergone surgery.

David Price, of Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, has had a cataract removed at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff.

His son-in-law Nick Meyrick said the operation had gone well and Mr Price was heading home to recover.

Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust had apologised when the operation had been cancelled for a third time last week.

"As far as we can tell he's quite happy and he's awake and everything," said Mr Meyrick.

"I think it's going to make a huge positive contribution to his life in terms of being able to watch TV and read the newspaper."

Mr Meyrick said Mr Price had been spending most of his time in bed and the family were concerned he was becoming depressed.

Mr Price, a father of four who fought in World War II with the South Wales Borderers, had said beforehand that he did not like having the operations cancelled but was grateful for the service the NHS provided.

"I don't mind once or twice but three times is a long time," he said.

"I'm very grateful of the service. In comparison with other countries we get a lovely service, it's just one of those things that happens.

Waiting list

"People are more important than me although I've done five years in the army and I went over D-Day and I pulled through, thank goodness."

Mr Price was placed on the waiting list for an operation on 1 September. He was due to have the operation on two occasions in October, but Mr Meyrick said both appointments were cancelled the day before.

Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust medical director Ian Lane said: "We would like to apologise to Mr Price for the worry and anxiety caused as we fully understand how distressing it is for any patient to have their operation cancelled.

"It is unfortunate that there are occasions when procedures have to be cancelled due to circumstances beyond our control. When this happens we always try to accommodate patients at the earliest possible opportunity.

"When a scheduled operation is cancelled, hospital staff consider every option carefully before making this decision and informing the patient."