A man suffering from a giant hernia in his stomach has died just days after allegedly being sent away from his GP.
Raymond Scougall was discovered dead at his home on Boxing Day after suffering long-term health problems which stemmed from a knife attack almost a decade ago.
Nine years prior to his death, Raymond, 40, and his brother Gary, 41, were both stabbed in a confrontation for which the attacker was jailed for 11 years. Since then, Raymond had been suffering from a severe hernia which required several operations.
After enduring five procedures, the hospital said there was nothing more they could do for him, the Daily Record reports.
Gary said: “By the time he died, Raymond’s hernia was the size of a baby’s head coming out his stomach."
A post-mortem revealed that Raymond’s death was related to his hernia.
His mum, Christina, said: “The post-mortem said it was caused by a loss of blood after his hernia burst through his stomach wall.”
Gary said that his brother did not receive enough medical treatment for his condition.
“My mum took him to his NHS appointments when he needed to go to the hospital and for the surgery but they never gave him much help," he said.
"They said his stomach wall couldn’t hold his intestines anymore. The stomach wall couldn’t hold the pressure of his hernia.
“He has been in constant pain for years and it has been getting worse. He has been going in and out of his GP asking for pain relief but he wasn’t being given anything at all.
“He was in agony and it looked like the mesh was coming out his stomach. He had to clean out the hole in his stomach himself every day."
“On December 23, he went along with my mum to his GP because he was in so much pain.
"But the doctor told him, ‘There is no need for you to be here’ and said to my mum, ‘There is nothing wrong with him’.”
On Christmas Day, Raymond spent most of the day in his bedroom.
“He used to go in there and sit for hours on his computer," Gary said.
“But the next morning I never heard a sound coming from his room. His door was jammed so I had to force it open to get into the room.
“When I went in I saw him on the floor and there was blood over his stomach area. He was bleeding from his wound and mesh was coming out.”
After turning him over, Gary was horrified to find that his brother was dead.
He continued: “I don’t want another family to be treated the way Raymond was treated.
"All we want is for the medical practice not to treat anyone else the way they treated Raymond.”
After Raymond’s death, a letter arrived for him from Midlock Medical Centre in Govan, Glasgow. It was dated the 24th December, Christmas Eve.
It read: “You attended our surgery on December 23.
"There was no reason for your attendance and when asked to leave you swore and were offensive to our office manager.
"Repetition of this behaviour will result in your removal from our list.”
Gary accepts that his brother may have sworn at medics through sheer frustration and pain.
He said “He was treated so badly it wouldn’t have been surprising. He was clearly really suffering but no-one wanted to know.”
Gary said the family is "looking for answers".
"The doctors at the surgery are refusing to see my mum or talk to her about it," he claimed.
A spokeswoman for the Midlock said: “We are not going to comment on any of that information.”
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