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Delayed urgent surgery at Queen Elizabeth Hospital

Posted By linloo

"Delayed urgent surgery at Queen Elizabeth Hospital"

About: Queen Elizabeth University Hospital Glasgow / Neurosurgery (Ward 64 – 66)

(as a relative),

My brother was seen by neurosurgery in 4/2021 at which point he was informed he requires urgent surgery ( anterior cervical discectomy) for compression of at least 2 cervical vertebrae. Apparently he received a letter in July apologising for exceeding the trust and government waiting time, as a result of unforeseen circumstances. We all know COVID is causing major problems with regards to the NHS, however what does not seem to be taken into account is how this delay is impacting my brothers life.

He is in constant pain and mobility is affected. At this moment in time he has difficulty carrying out daily tasks let alone work (who terminated his employment due to sickness uncertainty).The whole reason for the urgent surgery was to prevent as many long term effects the compression has on his spinal cord as possible and in turn his physical health.

I am aware that surgery and staff are being redeployed due to shortages etc but surely specialist staff like neuro surgeons and nurse should be retained in their own speciality, considering the QEH is Scotland's specialist hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery.

My brother is now, at 51 years of age, gone from someone who would never take time off work to being very restricted in his ability to even wash. This is having a major affect on his mental health as well as physical. An idea of when he is likely to have the surgery would at least give him something to aim towards and give a more positive outlook.

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Responses

Response from Lisa Dorrian, General Manager, Oral Health Directorate, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde 3 years ago
Lisa Dorrian
General Manager, Oral Health Directorate,
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

Submitted on 12/11/2021 at 14:31
Published on Care Opinion on 15/11/2021 at 08:27

Dear linloo,

Please accept my apologies in the delay to replying to you. I am sorry to hear of your brother's situation.

The letter received by your brother is a standard system generated letter for anyone who goes beyond a wait of 12 weeks while being on an inpatient waiting list. I wish to apologise if receiving this has caused you or brother distress.

Please ask him to email me directly with his name and date of birth or CHI number and I will look into the matter. My email address is: lisa.dorrian@ggc.scot.nhs.uk.

Kind regards

Lisa Dorrian

Clinical Service Manager

Surgical Specialties

The Institute of Neurological Sciences

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Update posted by linloo (a relative)

Thank you Lisa for your assistance in expediting a follow up and surgery for my brother. He was reviewed and allocated a theatre slot within?2 weeks after my concern. Unfortunately he had problems which delayed his surgery till this week. He has been admitted treated and discharged this week, hopefully halting any further deterioration. For the assistance of the neurosurgery department and your swift help I am truly grateful.

Update posted by linloo (a relative)

Lisa, can I update you on the above case. My brother as I said had his surgery just before Christmas 2021 however the follow up care has been non existent. Last week my brother finally had a face to face appointment with his GP, who has no record of any admissions for his neck or needless to say a discharge summary. On phoning the hospital the GP was informed that they couldn't find anything regarding the consultant or procedure carried out. As my brother saw several different Drs he has no idea who his consultant was and has therefore been reluctant to chase up any follow up etc. He was seen, during admission, by a physiotherapist who had a brief check of him and had mentioned that he may need help with his clonus should it persist, but had too much information swimming about his head to know what the outcome was regarding same. I would appreciate if you could look into this new or extension of previous problems in his care and let him know the outcome. He hasn't contacted yourself as he has been dealing with other issues and doesn't want to be a nuisance.

Response from Eilidh Gallagher, Clinical Services Manager, Institute of Neurological Sciences, NHSGGC 2 years ago
Eilidh Gallagher
Clinical Services Manager, Institute of Neurological Sciences,
NHSGGC

Submitted on 06/06/2022 at 15:21
Published on Care Opinion at 15:21

Dear Linoloo,

I'm sorry to hear that your brother hasn't had had a positive follow up experience, although I am pleased to read that he has now had his surgery and I hope he has been recovering well.

Lisa has now moved on to a new position. If your brother would be happy to contact me I can look into his concerns. I appreciate there will be a lot going on for him, but from a confidentiality perspective I would need his consent to discuss his care with anyone else. I hope this isn't too challenging to coordinate.

I can be contacted at Eilidh.gallagher@ggc.scot.nhs.uk

Kind Regards

Eilidh Gallagher,

Interim Clinical Service Manager

Neurology Medical Specialities

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