Appendicitis patient waited 64 hours for surgery

Via Witterings From Witney:

David Waterhouse was 'bumped down' the list several times because there was a lack of surgeons able to perform the operation on him at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, East Sussex.

The mortgage adviser was allowed to 'slowly deteriorate' in his bed to a state which could have killed him because only two theatres rather than the normal three were open. Instead other cases were dealt with as priorities while Mr Waterhouse - who is now at home following his ordeal earlier this month - lay in bed with crippling pains.

His wife Rebecca, 43, has criticised the care her husband received at the hospital when he was admitted on Saturday, August 8. She said: "It was unacceptable - he was put at risk - an appendicitis is a serious condition that could change at any time. The longer he was waiting to have his operation, the longer he was risking the appendix rupturing."

She added there should be no difference between weekend and weekday rotas as "people get sick all the time". She said: ""We are in no way complaining about the treatment itself but I think it would be a good idea to open up an extra operating theatre so people don't have to suffer. After all people get sick all the time - not just on weekends."

Surgeons finally operated on Mr Waterhouse on Monday - almost three days after he was first admitted...

Source: Daily Telegraph