A man who spent almost 10 hours in hospital after getting a KFC bone lodged in his throat “may never eat chicken again” after the traumatic experience.
Alister Mackinnon’s ordeal started when he took his wife Janet for a finger lickin’ treat on Sunday in Union Street, Aberdeen. But partway through their meal, a long bone became lodged in Mr Mackinnon’s oesophagus.
He rushed to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary at 8pm, and was swiftly seen by a nurse. But after an X-ray, he was told nobody would be able to remove it for him until the following morning. He claims he was left for hours in a waiting room, until eventually being given a bed on Ward 103.
Mr Mackinnon was eventually able to dislodge the offending bone at around 5.30am and discharged himself from hospital.
The 67-year-old, who works as a thermologist, said: “I can’t believe they left me until the next day. I could feel it scraping in my throat. It must have been dangerous. I could barely speak and was struggling to breathe.
“They said they needed to wait for a doctor to be available to use a special camera to go down and grab it out. I asked if I could go home and go back the next day but they wanted me to stay in.
“I was in that much pain I was contemplating driving down to Glasgow to be seen by someone. That’s how desperate I was.
“I love the hospital and they’ve been brilliant to me in the past. But I wasn’t happy with the way I was treated. I told the doctor I wasn’t happy.”
He added: “I just went with Janet after work for a bite to eat. Everyone was watching while I was trying to bring the thing back up. I knew I had to get to the hospital. It’s made me feel like I may never eat chicken again, I’m that paranoid.”
An NHS Grampian spokeswoman said: “We cannot discuss the individual circumstances of any patient or the treatment they are given.
“If Mr Mackinnon is unhappy with the treatment he received, we would encourage him to contact our Feedback service. They will investigate fully and respond to him directly.”