Josh Moore may have to wait another 48 hours for surgery with operations delayed

Josh Moore may have to wait another 48 hours for spinal surgery as the delays to his planned spinal surgery continue.

It has been a week since Moore fractured a vertebra and broke some ribs in a fall from Botox Has at Plumpton, with four planned operations delayed as he awaits specialist treatment surgery to insert rods into his back at Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton.

All jockeys are required to have private health care, but the nature of Moore's spinal injury means he must be treated through the NHS.

Moore has been restricted to lying nearly flat on his back since the incident and has the added strain of needing to limit his movement due to the nature of the damage to his spine.

A statement released by the Injured Jockeys Fund on Monday said: "It is hoped that Josh Moore will undergo surgery in the next 48 hours. Josh remains in the Royal Sussex County Hospital.

"Options for private treatment have been explored but owing to the nature of his injury and the specifics of the proposed surgical procedure the consultant in charge has advised that care should remain in the NHS.

"The current Covid-related pressures on the NHS have meant that treatment has been delayed, however he continues to receive excellent care. The family are being supported at this difficult time."

Jamie Moore: 'He wants to do everything he can to get out of there and get moving again”Credit: Harry Trump (Getty Images)

Moore's family have spoken of their frustration at the jockey's protracted stay in hospital, with his mother Jayne writing on Twitter on Sunday that it had been three weeks since the jockey and his sister, broadcaster Hayley Moore, had run the London Marathon, but that Josh was now "awaiting spinal surgery but sadly his op has been cancelled four days in a row".

Moore's older brother Jamie, who has been able to visit Josh in hospital, said it had been a mentally taxing week for someone who was used to being active and mobile.

"He's still awaiting surgery," he reported on Sunday. "He's in a very busy hospital and there have been emergencies come in that have delayed his operation for four days now. It's frustrating for him as he just wants to get up and about.

"When you've got an injury like he has you don't want to move too much. An unstable fracture is one you want to keep still with as you're conscious of damaging any nerves, so it's mentally really tough to lie still, flat on your back, for a week when all you want to do is get up. They've raised him 30 degrees but it's not much.

"It's hard for him but once the rods are in he can crack on and should be out within a couple of days. I hope and pray that it's his time tomorrow because that'll have been a week by then, which is a long time for anyone to be in that position.

"He's been on his back basically since the moment he fell off the horse. He wants to do everything he can to get out of there and get moving again."

Pressure on the NHS has been increasing in the second half of 2021, with data released this month by NHS England for August showing that 5.7 million people were on waiting lists for routine treatment, the highest figure since records began in 2007.

The government in England has also been facing continued calls from medical professionals to implement the Plan B portion of its winter plan for Covid-19, which involves the return of some societal restrictions to "prevent unsustainable pressure on the NHS".

A total of 39,962 cases of the virus were reported in the UK on Sunday, with 6,720 hospital admissions in the week to October 19, a 19.9 per cent rise on the previous seven days.

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The Front Runner is our latest email newsletter available exclusively to Members' Club Ultimate subscribers. Chris Cook, a three-time Racing Reporter of the Year award winner, provides his take on the day's biggest stories and tips for the upcoming racing every morning from Monday to Friday