A pensioner who suffered excruciating pain told how he had to dial 999 from his own hospital bed to ask for help, in one of the most heartbreaking examples of the NHS crisis.
Martin Wild was admitted to Salford Royal Hospital last year after developing a spinal infection following a private operation.
The 73-year-old was denied pain relief due to staff shortages and was even left lying in his own urine during his horrific eight-month stay in hospital, he claimed. Other nearby patients were also screaming and asking for help.
At one point, Mr Wild, who also suffers from Parkinson’s, told his wife: “If I’m going to die in this hospital, let it be soon.”
A doctor who evaluated Mr. Wild described him as “the most neglected patient I have ever seen.”
Martin Wild was admitted to Salford Royal Hospital last year after developing a spinal infection following a private operation. The 73-year-old was denied pain relief due to staff shortages and was even left lying in his own urine during his horrific eight-month stay in hospital, he claimed. Other nearby patients were also screaming and asking for help.
At one point, Mr Wild, who also suffers from Parkinson’s, told his wife: “If I’m going to die in this hospital, let it be soon.” A doctor who evaluated Mr. Wild described him as “the most neglected patient I have ever seen.”
Wild, a former car salesman, was initially taken to Fairfield Hospital A&E in Bury on May 8, two weeks after an operation to treat spinal stenosis, a surgery to narrow the spine. He was transferred to Salford Royal (pictured) hours later and admitted to an intensive care ward.
An investigation by Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, found his care caused him “serious harm” and apologized for its failings.
Wild, a former car salesman, was initially taken to Fairfield Hospital A&E in Bury on May 8, two weeks after an operation to treat spinal stenosis, a surgery to narrow the spine.
He was transferred to Salford Royal hours later and admitted to an intensive care ward.
Recalling his shocking experience, Mr Wild added: “I asked for some pain relief. They said, ‘We don’t have the powers to prescribe (an opioid).’ I asked, ‘Can you get a doctor?’
‘They said, ‘They’re busy with over 100 patients, you’re not a priority.’ I was suffering so I called 999.’
Wild was ultimately given painkillers after several calls to hospital receptionists.
He was later discharged despite doctors warning that he was not well enough and did not have adequate care at home.
But even after being readmitted days later, Wild claimed his poor care at the hospital continued.
“I was in a lot of pain, I was shaking, but no one seemed bothered,” he told the Daily Mirror.
“I told my wife Lorraine, ‘I can’t take it anymore. If I’m going to die in the hospital, let it be soon.”
In a grim incident, he also threw one of the three bottles full of urine that were on his table onto his bed after shaking in so much pain.
Mr Wild claimed that he had been left lying in urine soaked sheets for hours before they finally changed them.
After being transferred to a new ward in September, A colleague called Glyn Smurthwaite, a consultant anesthetist, to assess Mr Wild.
“He was the most neglected patient I have seen in an acute setting in my 38 years in the medical profession,” he said.
The retired doctor said it was clear Wild had suffered as there was no consultant in charge of his care for months.
In a grim incident, he also threw one of the three bottles full of urine that were on his table onto his bed after shaking in so much pain. Wild claimed he was left lying on urine-soaked sheets for hours before they were finally changed.
Wild has said his experience has shaken his faith in the health service. “The NHS is not the NHS I thought it was going to be, I thought I would be looked after by people who cared about me,” she added.
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Wild’s wife Lorraine, a former nurse, also said she had to fight for the Northern Care Alliance to carry out a serious incident investigation into his treatment.
The inquest outcome initially described the care she received as moderate harm, but she fought to have it elevated to serious harm.
Judith Adams, director of services at Northern Care Alliance, said changes have been made to “learn from Mr Wild’s experience” to ensure “every patient and their family receives appropriate and responsive care”.
But Wild has said his experience has shaken his faith in the health service.
“The NHS is not the NHS I thought it was going to be, I thought I would be looked after by people who cared about me,” he added.
Smurthwaite also said he was “absolutely dissatisfied” that cases like his were not happening again.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson apologized “for what Mr Wild had to endure”.
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He added that last year the government had announced a £2.4bn plan to boost the NHS workforce in the long term.
Experts have long warned The situation is only going to get worse, with the sick National Health Service trapped in an “eternal winter” amid staff shortages and unprecedented demand.
New data released last week also exposed the “dire” state of the NHS, with mMore than 40 per cent of patients who went to A&E last year in England waited at least four hours to be seen.
This equates to around 900,000 each month.
It marks a five-fold increase in the space of a decade, illustrating the scale of the crisis that has seen patients forced to sleep on the floor or sit on stretchers in hospital corridors while waiting for a bed.