CRISIS OF DOC SHORTAGES

OAP was left deaf for three months after waiting list shock at surgery

A PENSIONER threatened to sue his GP after learning he faced a 12-week wait for treatment that left him almost deaf.

Graham Jones, 76, says he has needed ear irrigation for over a decade to help with a hearing problem but was left stunned when he was told there was a waiting list.

The retired councillor said: “It was horrendous. I had to try to lip-read. My hearing aid wouldn’t even work.

“It made me really angry. Over the last 10 years I’ve just made an appointment, gone in and it’s been done. Suddenly I was told there was a three-month waiting list.” At one point Mr Jones “seriously considered” suing the practice if he had had an accident as a result of his deafness.

He said government funding to his local practice in North Norfolk had been cut in the past five years, as patient numbers rose after new homes were built. Mr Jones said his surgery had been left more than £400,000 short of the funding it needed.

ASTONISHING

“I know two ladies in their 80s who have had to pay £80 to have their ears irrigated privately. I got an appointment after three months. I refused to pay – I believe strongly in the NHS.”

After Mr Jones complained, his surgery laid bare the pressure they were under. Their astonishing response to him said “We have to balance the staff we have, the hours they work, their skills, our available space and the overall demand for all services we offer.

“We appreciate ear irrigation is very important for you, but the same applies in respect of anti-coagulation, phlebotomy, post-operative care, complex drug monitoring, taking and interpreting ECGs, tending to minor injuries, monitoring patients with eating disorders, PSA monitoring, diabetes and COPD care, supporting patients with mental health problems, dementia identification, cancer care, chronic kidney disease, epilepsy monitoring, fitting and removing contraceptive implants to name but a few – all in respect of many of our other patients.”