Kentish Express Ashford & District
Patient goes to Calais for op after NHS delays
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A retired police officer went to Calais for an operation after becoming fed up with cancelled hospital appointments and his records being lost.
Steve Morris, 66, of Orchard Heights, Ashford, first reported suffering from stomach pain in March this year, and was found unconscious by his wife.
He was taken in an ambulance to the William Harvey Hospital where he was kept in for seven days and told he needed major surgery.
But nearly five months later, he still hadn’t been contacted to arrange the operation.
Mr Morris said: “On each occasion I was told that they would be in touch to arrange an appointment prior to surgery. I was told I would need an operation. My doctor and I kept chasing the hospital.
“I was getting frustrated with the lack of communication, and then a lady said she had got no record of me, the records had been lost.
“I was given an appointment, nearly six months distant, and this was then cancelled.
“That’s what led me to think ‘this is stupid, they are in such a mess’, but I don’t have the finances to go private.” Steve Morris
Instead Mr Morris researched the agreement between Kent Clinical Commissioning Groups and health trusts, and the Centre Hospitalier in Calais about the deal for the French hospital to treat Kent patients free.
Mr Morris said: “I called and they booked an appointment straight away. I couldn’t believe it. Within a week I’ve been seen by the consultant and on Monday I had the surgery.”
Yet he remains one of only a handful of patients to be seen in France, despite the agreement being in place.
Centre Hospitalier manager Martin Trelcat says only three patients have been admitted, despite plans being made to treat hundreds of patients from Kent, with signage and trained staff on hand to look after English people.
He said: “I am surprised by the very few patients welcomed here since 2016, because we don’t have any waiting lists.