"Go somewhere else"

I returned to the Orthopaedic department in August after I broke my wrist over a year ago and was initially treated at the Orthopaedic department in Torbay.

When I broke my wrist all the Surgeon did was put it in a cast and left it and I have been left with a wrist I cannot use and a swollen hand.

When I turned up at the clinic the senior Hand and Wrist Surgeon (whom I had seen the year before and had treated me as above) seemed a bit confused why I was there, so I explained that I no longer have a wrist I can use, and my hand is constantly swollen.

After this we went around in circles for 5 – 10 minutes with me saying I blamed them for my wrist and the Consultant saying that all was fine (which is quite amazing when you see the size of my hand after a year).

Then the Consultant said if I wasn’t happy to get a second opinion to which I got my second opinion letter out from a consultant in Bristol.

The Consultant sat reading the letter muttering ‘I don’t agree with this’, never once did the Consultant say what they disagreed with.

The letter states three things wrong with my wrist.

Then we went around in circles for another five minutes with me saying I blamed the Consultant for my wrist and the Consultant saying everything was fine.

Eventually the Consultant said that the consult was not going very far and asked me to leave.

Which I did with my parting advice to the Consultant was to retire.

I have written to the hospital asking this so called surgeon to clarify what he didn’t agree with and the Consultant claims the Bristol surgeon was misleading in his interpretation of the fracture which is quite amazing as the surgeon in Bristol has a BSc (Hons), MBChB, FRCS (Eng), MD FRCS (Tr & Orth) and is a Consultant at the Bristol Royal Infirmary and the Avon Orthopaedic Centre and the only qualification I can find attached to the this surgeon in Torbay is MB ChB 1989 University of Leeds, so I know which one I would rather trust.

The reply I have received back from the hospital is not very helpful, so my advice is go anywhere else but this hospital if you want to gain any sort of mobility again.

I have no mobility of my wrist thanks to this hospital nor do they seem to have any respect for their patients.