Patient’s 2 years in agony – waiting for simple test on NHS

A pensioner left in constant agony by an unknown condition faces a two-year wait for a simple diagnostic test.

George Giblin has been told he needs an endoscopy to find the underlying cause of his chronic pain.

But despite initially consulting his Gp in 2018, he has been told it will be June at the earliest before he can be seen.

Waiting times for diagnostic tests north of the Border are under-performing, with just over one in five patients missing the six-week target.

The 73-year-old, from Dundee, had already waited almost a year just to obtain an appointment with a consultant.

He has been suffering daily bouts of pain for the past two years and has diabetes.

Mr Giblin first contacted his

Gp in october 2018 to ask that he be referred to a consultant in order to find out what was causing the problem.

But he had to wait 11 months before finally being seen in september last year.

He says he was told by NHS Tayside he would have to wait more than nine more months for an endoscopy, which would help identify the cause of the agony he feels every day. He said: ‘i’m starting to suffer from depression and anxiety due to all of this. i’ve already got quite a number of illnesses, and i’m in pain 24/7.

‘no one should have to go through all of this just to get an endoscopy. Do they expect me to just lie down and die?’

The consultant referred Mr Giblin for an endoscopy at ninewells Hospital, Dundee. But he has been told he will not receive the procedure – which involves a camera being inserted into the body to carry out an internal examination – until June or July.

Mr Giblin said: ‘it’s not just me. i’m concerned that other people will be forced to go through what i have. i know the NHS is in trouble, but just how much? How much money do they need?’

A spokesman for NHS Tayside said yesterday: ‘Due to patient confidentiality, we are unable to comment on individual cases.

‘endoscopy waiting times are longer than we would want and we understand that this is distressing for patients and their families.

‘The public should be assured that the most clinically urgent patients are prioritised, and NHS Tayside is working to improve waiting times and increase capacity.

‘As with other boards in scotland, we are facing recruitment challenges. However, we are continuing to actively recruit to fill vacancies.’