A north-east father had to wait more than eight hours to be admitted to hospital in Aberdeen after finally deciding he was unable to “take the pain any longer”.
Jim Bruce, who is from Daviot near Inverurie, underwent an operation in April this year on his side to have a hernia repaired.
The 70-year-old was left with what he described as a “sack that gathers blood”, and was later told the procedure was “unsuccessful” and he would need another one to repair the damage.
Initially, he heeded NHS Grampian’s warnings of the local health service being under intense pressure and stayed away from local hospitals.
Health officials said at the weekend that anyone without a “life threatening” condition, like a heart attack or stroke, should not go to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary‘s emergency department.
However, after enduring the pain, Mr Bruce later decided he had no other option but to call for help.
‘I was in so much pain’
Aberdeen’s A&E department made a plea over the weekend for patients with non-life-threatening conditions to stay away.
However, Mr Bruce’s condition had become increasingly unbearable and resulted in a eight-hour wait to get into hospital
He said: “Since last Tuesday, I couldn’t put the hernia back in and I was concerned it was out and all bloated.
“I was in so much pain and my wife phoned 111 at 7.30pm on Saturday, and she was on the phone with it ringing for about an hour and five minutes.
“Finally it got answered and there was a heap of questions for half an hour, then it got passed onto the nurse who asked ‘Can your husband speak?’
“I then had another half an hour answering questions, then they said at about 9.30pm they’d get an ambulance organised, I got my bag and everything ready.
“I thought ‘That’s fine, they’ll come in half an hour’ but I got a call at 1am saying the likelihood of another ambulance will be another four to six hours.”
‘Concerned this will happen next weekend’
Mr Bruce then went to bed to get some sleep, before a first responder arrived at about 3am.
He said: “The responder turned up, checked me out and said ‘Geez, we need to get you into hospital.’
“An ambulance still wasn’t available so he kindly offered to take me into ARI.”
By 7am Jim underwent a CT scan, but he fears history will repeat itself and will therefore have to go private again after doing so with the original operation.
He explained: “I got into ward 208 at about 4am and got a CT scan at 7am. I’m sitting back at home now and I’m concerned that this will happen next weekend.
“This has possibly been a life-threatening situation as the hernia could have got strangulated and burst.
“The emergency teams advised they would only do a temporary fix by tacking things and I would still need to get it repaired with mesh so I am back to chasing private.”
He stressed that he “can’t really fault” any of the NHS Grampian staff that helped him.
He added: “They are just so busy, understaffed and clearly worn out by the Covid pandemic.”
‘Self-manage their condition in the meantime’
The mounting pressure is said to also affect Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin and community hospitals across the region.
Earlier this year, a 69-year-old man from Lossiemouth with a melon-sized hernia said he’s been left waiting years for an operation.
NHS Grampian has called for the public’s help in weathering the current extreme pressures caused by a large number of ill patients and staff shortages.
The health board says it is calling extra staff when possible and encouraging family members to collect loved ones when discharged to free up beds quicker.
When contacted about Mr Bruce’s case, a spokeswoman said: “Anyone who receives emergency treatment requiring follow-up will be referred through the NHS and given advice on how to self-manage their condition in the meantime.
“While we cannot comment on individual cases, we would encourage anyone with concerns about the care provided to them to engage with our feedback service.”
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