NHS FAILS HALIFAX MAN
AN UNEMPLOYED factory worker from Halifax claims he has been failed by the NHS and has been forced to seek alternative therapies privately to treat his medical condition.
Last January, a week after his wife left him, 52-year-old Fenton Grange discovered a dark line running down the underside of his penis, and decided he needed to have it checked out. “It’s been there all my life, to be honest, and I just thought it was your bog standard Cornish pasty seam. But I thought I’d best have it looked at to rule anything out,” he said.
However, Fenton had heard about how difficult it was currently to get an appointment with a GP, and so decided to go private. “There’s no point phoning the doctors because you can’t get to see them,” he said. “So I went along to a massage parlour on the high street that specialises in complementary treatments for things that conventional medicine cannot cure.”
Luckily for Fenton, a trained masseuse was able to diagnose his condition, and she prescribed a 10-minute homeopathic massage. “It really did the trick, and I felt great after I came out,” he said.
However, the following day, the line was still there, and Grange considered attending the A&E department at Halifax General Hospital, but decided against it. “I’m not sure they would have appreciated my going there, because a line on my chopper that I’ve had from birth isn’t strictly an emergency,” he said. “And anyway, the average wait there is about 9 hours, so I decided to go private again.”
Fenton attended a walk-in session at a different alternative therapy clinic, The Touch of Sweden behind the railway station. The therapist on duty examined him and confirmed the previous diagnosis. “She recommended another remedial massage which cost £25, or £30 if I wanted her to use essential oils,” he said.
Once again the treatment worked and Fenton left the clinic above a betting shop feeling like a new man. “It had cost me fifty quid for two courses of treatment, money I wouldn’t have had to pay if the NHS was run properly,” he said. “But what price good health and peace of mind?”
But four months later, Fenton’s condition still persists, and he has spent almost all his life savings trying to find a cure. “The seam isn’t going away, and I can’t get to see a doctor about it,” he said. “I saw one last week, but that was for my statins review, and you’re only allowed to talk to them about one thing, so I couldn’t bring my chopper seam up.”
“I could spend the money I’m paying now on BUPA or something, but them bastards won’t cover the treatment as it’s a pre-existing condition, ” he continued.
So in the absence of any help from the NHS, Fenton is paying privately for his treatment. “I have a course of three corrective reflexology massages a week, which concentrates on manipulation of the affected area,” he said. “But they’re not cheap, and the rate my redundancy money’s going down, I think I’ll have to drop it to twice weekly.”