David Sumberg MEP
Date:
21/01/2002
NHS HORROR STORY
Manchester Euro MP David Sumberg has written to the Health Secretary and the Chief Executive of Manchester Royal Infirmary to express his dismay at the treatment of a Heaton Mersey woman who has endured a ‘waiting list horror story’.
Mrs Jean Taylor, 57, of Lindope Close, has waited more than two years for an operation at MRI after being diagnosed with an umbilical hernia in November 1999. Last week in despair she wrote to her local Stockport councilor Les Jones who then passed the matter onto David Sumberg MEP.
Mrs Taylor’s first operation date was April 2000 which she unable to make for personal reasons, the second was November 30 2000. On arrival at the hospital she was told the operation had been cancelled due to a shortage of beds.
After spending a year in considerable pain Mrs Taylor’s specialist eventually gave her an operation date of January 17 2002 just before Christmas 2001.
After a preoperative session on January 10 Mrs Taylor was told to ring the hospital on the date of the operation to check all was going ahead.
When she first rang, she was informed that there was no bed available and that she should keep checking on an hourly basis. Eventually she was told at 10.30 am that the operation had been cancelled because there were no beds available. However, she was then telephoned at 11 am by the hospital informing her that if she came in immediately, the operation could take place that day.
Mrs Taylor spent the afternoon being assured by nurses the operation would take place that day as the surgeons would ‘stay late’. At 6 pm however, she was informed her operation had been cancelled and that she must return home – she had now not eaten for 19 hours.
At the time of writing Mrs Taylor is still waiting for her operation.
Mr Sumberg said words could not express his horror at treatment of Mrs Taylor and he hoped by taking then matter up with the Health Secretary Alan Milburn MP the matter would be sorted out once and for all.
‘Having spoken to Mrs Taylor I know how anxious she is that no-one else goes through what she has,’ he said. ‘By raising the issue with the right people hopefully no-one else will have to endure the two years of pain and worry that Mrs Taylor has.’