A worried son has begged NHS Lanarkshire to help his dad who has been waiting on surgery for a year.
David Wilson, 84, broke his humerus, the upper arm bone, last May and a procedure scheduled at University Hospital Wishaw has been postponed on several occasions.
Each delay has left David with chronic pain and confined to a recliner chair at his home in Shotts. His son Alastair is now desperate for the surgery to be done as quickly as possible.
However, the backlog caused by the pandemic has left David without a date for the op.
Alastair said: “All we have been told is that it is an indefinite date, they can’t tell me when it will happen.
“I have contacted MSPs and they have tried their best but we seem to be hitting a brick wall.
“He was in the hospital with an infection and I thought that would be ideal for him to have the operation but the staff at Wishaw couldn’t get him a bed in the surgical ward.
“I have even asked if dad could get the operation in another hospital.
“I’d be willing to travel to any part of the UK but that doesn’t seem to be a goer either.”
Alastair’s plea comes as NHS Lanarkshire revealed that it is no longer at the highest level of risk.
Following a risk assessment, senior leaders at the health board lowered the level of risk from black to red.
The health board had been at the highest level of risk since October last year.
Alastair added: “It’s really difficult seeing dad in this state.
“He has barely been out the house this past year.
“I would like a bit more transparency. I keep getting told we don’t have a date but they don’t explain what other options we might have.
“I’m getting desperate now. It just seems to me he is getting left high and dry.”
Judith Park, NHS Lanarkshire director of acute services, said: “We appreciate it can be extremely upsetting for patients who are waiting for treatment.
“While we have reduced the overall level of risk from black to red, safety measures remain in place to protect our patients and staff which prevent services from operating the way they did before Covid-19.
As services restart, patients are being scheduled for surgery based on clinical priority.
“We have been in regular contact with Mr Wilson and his son and a clinical review of Mr Wilson was carried out by a consultant surgeon earlier this year.
“However, at present, we are unable to give a definitive timeline of when the surgery will take place.
“We will confirm with them directly when we are in a position to do so.”
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