"The time delay regarding a major operation"

I will go back to the beginning when my husband was taken from our doctors surgery by ambulance in March 2013 to A&E.

He was seen by a junior doctor who took urine and blood test, a bedside scan on his bladder, inserted a catheter to empty the bladder which might help with the pain, on a scale of 1 to 10 his pain was 8 to 9, emptying the bladder did not help. The doctor went to check on the results and came back to say that although blood and urine were not showing any sign of infection to be on the safe side she would give him antibiotics, pain relief and send him home with the catheter, to go back in 3 days to have it removed or if he got worse to go back to A&E.

The following day I called a doctor from our surgery who came out examined my husband and said can you take him to hospital right away. My husband was seen again in A&E and was told he would be going for surgery, a CT scan was carried out which revealed a ruptured bowl, he also had peritonitis, due to his medication ( warfarin ) ( he has chronic heart failure ).

The operation although an emergency was delayed so that his blood could be thickened up. The operation was explained to us so we knew my husband would have a Stoma, he was discharged 10 days later, with follow up appointments at the Stoma clinic.

He developed a Parastomal Hernia which needed repair, he opted for a reversal of the Stoma which took place in October 2013, a few days later he had infection so about 28 clips were removed from the outside of his abdomen which left him with an open wound.

He was discharged at end of October with a suction therapy ( Smith & Weston machine ). The wound for the past few months is being dressed with Mepilex Border 17cm x 20cm plus the last few weeks Inadine. My husband was told at clinic in May that he has Hernia, it is dangerous and that he needs major surgery but a CT scan was needed first, after waiting 5 weeks he had the scan.

I have phoned and spoken to the surgeons secretary, I have spoken to someone from Imaging 2 times in the last week. I phoned the appointments office today and was assured that a letter was in the post for my husband to attend the surgeons clinic at end of July, up to that date my husband will have waited 10 weeks.

He still has open wound which because of Hernia is being stretched to the limits, he is very uncomfortable and distressed. I think the overall care he has received is disgusting.