Chemotherapy treatment for a terminally-ill pensioner was delayed because there was no hospital bed for her.

Hannah Murphy, 72, was due to have the treatment for colon cancer last Wednesday but was told there was no spare bed on Ward 15 at Bradford Royal Infirmary.

She was again told there was no room on Thursday and it was only on Friday evening that she was finally admitted for the treatment which took 48 hours to complete.

Hospital chiefs have blamed the delay on an exceptionally high number of emergency admissions but say there is no shortage of beds on the ward.

But her daughter Kathy Antoszkiw said she was angry her mother had been forced to wait and had been told similar delays could affect her treatment in the future.

She said: "We are still coming to terms with the fact that my mum has been given 12 months to live.

"During the last 12 months she's avoided going out for fear of being sick.

"I want to spend time with my mum without her suffering this extra worry of whether she will get a bed when she needs treatment."

Mrs Antoszkiw said she and her sister Ros Mistry did not blame hospital staff for the delay but felt the NHS had let her mother down at a time when she needed it most.

Mrs Murphy, of Undercliffe, was diagnosed with colon cancer six weeks ago following surgery but doctors decided it was inoperable and instead she was being given a 12-week course of chemotherapy.

Mrs Mistry, who travelled from Bristol to look after her mother last week, said: "It's hard to look at my mum. She's an old lady of 72, she's getting very depressed and she can't accept things like this.

"We don't want to fight the NHS, we just want treatment for my mum."

A Bradford Hospitals NHS Trust spokesman said there had been an exceptionally high demand for beds on the ward during the week due to a high number of emergency admissions.

"While we regret Mrs Murphy had her admission postponed we have done everything we can to accommodate her and are pleased to be able to admit her," he said.

Mrs Murphy's consultant Dr Chris Bradley said the delay, caused by one of the busiest weeks for many months, had no impact on her condition.

"It's not ideal because it worries people rather than it actually detracting from the treatment in any way," he said.

Mr Bradley added two or three other patients had their treatment postponed last week.

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