Grandad faces new delay in three-year wait for operation
ADISABLED grandad who has been waiting three years for an operation on a sore which has left him bed-bound most of the time now fears Covid could be about to scupper his chances of finally getting treatment.
Danny Sullivan, 75, says his life has become a “waste” as he has been forced to stay in bed for up to 18 hours a day to stop his painful sore from getting worse.
The grandad from Kings Heath has been waiting for an operation since the end of 2019. Surgery was scheduled for April 2020 at Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital before the Covid outbreak led to it being can- celled and put on hold indefinitely.
The subsequent huge treatment backlog means he has not been considered a priority for treatment and has been kept waiting ever since.
NHS trusts have been told to ensure all patients who have been waiting more than two years are treated.
Mr Sullivan is paralysed from the waist down after he was injured in a car crash and uses a wheelchair. The pensioner says he tries to remain upbeat but admits the monotony of his days have got him down.
But there have finally been some signs of progress over recent weeks.
He had a pre-op over the phone ahead of a planned biopsy but was told rising Covid levels have put the procedure in doubt, meaning his arduous wait could yet go on even longer.
Mr Sullivan explained: “Since that time they have been in touch and they are not sure if they will get me in because Covid levels are rising again.”
For the last three years, the fed-up grandad has been largely consigned to his bed at his first-floor flat where district nurses visit every day to change his dressings.
The fact he uses a wheelchair means his sore on his buttocks will only get worse if he doesn’t stay off it for long periods. He told us earlier in the year: “It would be so much better for my peace of mind and my general wellbeing. It just feels like a total waste of a life at the moment.
“The worst part of it is you have nothing to look forward to. You have no date. If you had anything to cling onto it would make life bearable.”
The progress over recent weeks has given him some hope, however. He said: “It looks like something is close to being in the offing. It’s encouraging that at least something is being done.”
Mr Sullivan has always insisted he does not expect to be prioritised over cancer patients and other urgent treatment but, equally, feels he has suffered enough.
“It is what it is,” he added. “There’s nothing else I can do. I got in touch with my local MP and he wrote to the hospital. It at least keeps my name at the fore.
“I never get totally down. It’s just drags it out - life is on hold.”
University Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the QE, previously apologised for treatment delays which is said were a result of demands which “have never been higher”.
They have been in touch and they are not sure if they will get me in because Covid levels are rising again. Danny Sullivan