The family of an 82-year-old man fear he could lose his toe which has turned black while waiting for treatment in hospital. The patient's daughter fears no one is taking responsibility for her father's care and the wait could result in an amputation.
Brian Jenkins was taken to The Grange University Hospital in Cwmbran three days ago after suffering pain in his legs and finding himself unable to walk. The pensioner and his daughter Claire Cooper waited for 14 hours before they were seen by a doctor, who told him he required urgent treatment for his toe.
But after being admitted to a liver ward, Mr Jenkins of Abergavenny is waiting to see a vascular specialist from the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, as The Grange does not have a vascular department. But Claire has begged for her father to be seen earlier after his toe turned from blue to black and his foot become red and swollen.
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She said: "(My father) had been living on his own independently walking with a stick, his mobility wasn’t perfect. Over the course of a few days his mobility declined rapidly. He wasn’t able to stand or walk at all unaided... He thought the problems were in his legs. His feet were very painful."
The family called a GP to see Mr Jenkins who advised them to take him to hospital, but after being told an ambulance was not available, Claire and her husband carried her father down the stairs and drove him in the car. Since being told Mr Jenkins was in danger of losing his toe, he was kept for four hours in a triage room for four hours before being transferred to the ward.
He was next seen by a doctor at 11.30pm on New Year's Eve when they were told they wouldn't be able to see a vascular specialist until Tuesday. Photographs of Mr Jenkins toe shows the rapid deterioration of his foot.
Claire said: "It’s now black, and I am worried he’s going to lose his toe. If he loses his toe he won’t be able to live independently. He’s in a huge amount of pain but he’s very stoic. He’s gone from flinching to crying out in pain.
"He laughs and jokes about it, saying he will get a discount at the chiropodists, but he doesn’t realise the seriousness of the situation. He had a stroke a few years ago and he’s hard of hearing so he doesn’t pick up everything about what’s going on. It’s very distressing for him.
"The key issue is nobody sees him as their patient and not taking responsibility for his care. The nurses are doing their best and they’re lovely people. We’re hugely grateful to them but they can’t get anywhere with the doctors either. They beep the doctors and get no response.
"There’s no communication and no responsibility, no leadership, no treatment, no action and this is the result. I think so, I didn’t know if it was too late already. It wasn’t too late when he was admitted to A&E and it wasn’t too late when we saw the GP. It’s going to be too late by Tuesday."
A spokeswoman from Aneurin Bevan University Health Board said: "It would be inappropriate to comment on individual cases, however, we can confirm that we are in contact with Mr Jenkins’ family and are fully aware of their concerns."
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