Medical staff from the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) have been unable to perform essential operations on 11 children from families who live in poverty.

Girish Swamy, a spinal consultant for the NNUH, started travelling to Kolkata in India on February 27 with five other team members to operate on young people with serious deformities.

One child had travelled more than 1,000 miles to Kolkata, and several others have been waiting years to receive their surgeries.

Some of the children who have had their surgeries cancelled (Image: Operation Straight Spine Trust)

One of the children who has a severe spinal deformity (Image: Operation Straight Spine Trust)

But, the operations could not go ahead as the group got held up in Dubai and still don't know when they will return home.

Mr Swamy said: "We boarded an Emirates plane in Dubai to go to India on Saturday.

"The pilot announced on the plane that we would take off in 20 minutes. 

Girish Swamy, front, with consultants and nurses from the NNUH, departing for their trip (Image: Operation Straight Spine Trust)

"A few minutes later, he said there had been a change in the geo-political situation and they would have to await further instruction.

"We waited on board for three hours and were then disembarked.

"Every year, I book annual leave to go to Kolkata to operate on children who have been referred to Operation Straight Spine Charity from surgeons across the world.

"The children come from very poor families.

Some of the other children's x-rays (Image: Operation Straight Spine Trust)

"Some have been waiting years for their surgeries, and they have been let down.

"If we can't get back by Friday, other surgeries and clinics in the UK will have to be postponed."

Mr Swamy added that although Emirates, the airline they travelled on, has provided them with a hotel, it has been a very distressing few days.

He said: "It has been very difficult to contact our families.

"They are very worried.

"Each day, we have been asked to queue up for a few hours at the airport to see if we can get out of Dubai.

"One time, we queued for six hours and then got turned away.

"On Friday, we had to queue for 9 hours to find a hotel room."

© Norwich Evening News