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You and Yours - Transcript ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 4 |
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TX: 21.06.04 – TUMOUR PATIENT HAS LIFE-SAVING OPERATION CANCELLED SIX TIMES. PRESENTER: LIZ BARCLAY |
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THE ATTACHED TRANSCRIPT WAS TYPED FROM A RECORDING AND NOT COPIED FROM AN ORIGINAL SCRIPT. BECAUSE OF THE RISK OF MISHEARING AND THE DIFFICULTY IN SOME CASES OF IDENTIFYING INDIVIDUAL SPEAKERS, THE ´óÏó´«Ã½ CANNOT VOUCH FOR ITS COMPLETE ACCURACY BARCLAY Noreen Adams, who is 69, has a tumour growing on her acoustic nerve and although it's benign it is pressing on the brain, she has already lost hearing in one ear and in the long term it is life threatening. Noreen is waiting for a 12 hour operation at SouthamptonGeneralHospital and it's been cancelled six times in seven months. ADAMS The problem was diagnosed in November 2002, which is about 19 months ago. But by this time I'd already lost the hearing in my left ear so there was no panic to do the operation to save the hearing because they knew the nerve was dead and I'd lost it anyway. BARCLAY So when was the first operation set for? ADAMS The first date I got was November 24th 2003. BARCLAY So that would have been a year after the diagnosis? ADAMS Yes. BARCLAY What happened then when that first operation was cancelled? ADAMS Well I was given another date, two weeks later, on the 8th December and that too was cancelled on the day that I had to phone and say - is there a bed? - and they came back and said no. BARCLAY So since November 24th 2003 your operation has been cancelled six times? ADAMS Yes. I wrote to my local MP, after the fifth cancellation, because I was so cross. And then after the sixth cancellation I'm afraid I lost my patience. I have no complaints about the staff at the hospital - they are most kind - and my object of the exercise for writing as I have and making the fuss that I've made is that I really would like the powers that be - whoever they are - to be made aware that the Wessex Neurological Centre at Southampton General Hospital do need help. They're a great bunch of people, they really want to get on with the job and they can't because they don't have the resources. BARCLAY So it's all hanging in the balance at the moment but what is the worse possible scenario if this operation doesn't go ahead? ADAMS Well although they grow quite slowly - these tumours do grow quite slowly - they are obviously in a very sort of dense area of nerves and I mean I've already lost - they've already killed my acoustic nerve on the left side, I think they feel it's likely that I've lost the balance nerve on that side and it is now very close to the facial nerve. And if that happens then I could be paralysed down one side. BARCLAY Have you got another date? ADAMS No, I haven't got a date and I haven't heard a thing from anybody. BARCLAY Noreen Adams, still waiting. Marilyn Kay is spokesperson for Southampton University Hospitals Trust. Marilyn I know you can't comment on Noreen's particular case but you've heard her concerns about the difficulties that staff at the hospital are under, is this down to a problem with resources? KAY Not exactly at the moment. We do have problems with resources indeed, it's been well documented and we're doing an awful lot of work within the whole health economy in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight to reverse that. But this particular issue, at the moment, in our neurological intensive care unit, is a staffing issue. We've found ourselves suddenly for no one reason very low on nursing staff - we've got 15 vacancies - which out of a total of 60 staff is clearly quite substantial. We are advertising - well we have advertised - and we've had an excellent response, we're very confident that we can have these beds open again but we've had to close beds. BARCLAY How many beds? KAY We've had to close three of the 10 beds that were operational. So we're down to seven. In actual fact although we're down to seven beds officially we've still got 10 patients, we're running at 10 because of the number of really quite dire emergencies that have come into us. Now because we have to concentrate on the emergencies I'm afraid the less urgent patients, such as Mrs Adams, have to be delayed. BARCLAY But ultimately Noreen Adams situation is a life threatening situation. How long before the hospital is back up to speed after this recruitment process? KAY Well we would hope by the end of August. BARCLAY And are you saying then that anything can be done to ensure that Noreen will - her operation will get the go ahead? KAY In what way? BARCLAY Can we be sure that after August there won't be another further six cancellations? KAY At the moment having spoken to people in Neuro and before - I have to say before Mrs Adams went to the media at all - we were working very hard on finding a slot for her because clearly six times being cancelled is far too much, despite the fact it is less urgent than some of our patients. But six times cancellation is far too much and certainly the department is doing everything they possibly can to bring Mrs Adams in as soon as possible. And they're looking really at a short time - we're not talking about months away. But it may be that they will have to ring fence an intensive care bed. The problem is you see because the operation needs to be carried out - it needs the intensive care bed as well, it is part and parcel of the surgery, it's not just theatre time, it's also intensive care time. BARCLAY Marilyn Kay thank you for joining us. Back to the You and Yours homepage The ´óÏó´«Ã½ is not responsible for external websites |
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