A Glasgow mum says she's suffering agonising hip and knee pain and has waited more than five years for surgery.
Joan Brown claims she takes morphine every four hours to cope with the pain and is unable to take any more than a few steps unaided.
The 60-year-old explained that her life has been "on hold" since she was first referred to a specialist in December 2017 by her GP, the Sunday Mail reports.
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The mother of six now needs a walking frame and a wheelchair to get around and her 27-year-old son Scott Tabor has given up work to become her full-time carer.
Joan's medical records show she was first referred to the orthopaedic department at Glasgow Royal Infirmary in 2017 and believed she had been placed on a waiting list.
She explained: "My life is on hold at the moment until I can have the hip and knee replacement. I have gone from being a very active woman to one who can't even leave her own home. I put my trust in the system but it has let me down. I don't know why I have been made to wait so long.
"The pain is unbearable and I am having to take stronger and stronger doses of morphine. I feel like prisoner in my own home and have lost my independence and quality of life."
In a consultation in March 2018, she was told she did not require surgery at that point, but over years, the condition of both hips and knee further deteriorated - seriously affecting her mobility and she is now housebound.
June was then given a second referral in June 2021 from her GP to Glasgow Royal Infirmary Orthopaedic Department. In his letter to doctors, he wrote: "This lady has been complaining of pain in her right knee for the last 10 years and pain in both hips for the last five.
"I have managed the chronic pain with morphine. The pain in her right knee has worsened in recent months affecting her mobility. She is in agony at times.
"Her hip pain is also worsening specially her left hip which is also affecting her mobility and quality of life. X-ray also showed moderate to severe degenerative changes in right hip but severe degenerative changes in her left hip."
A consultant saw Joan in December 2021 and confirmed the requirement for surgery on both hips and her knee. But he was unable to say when any operation might take place and Joan is still waiting on a date. Joan also needs help each day with dressing, washing and cooking of meals. She previously had an active lifestyle, looking after her four grandchildren and taking them to and from school each day.
Son Scott said: "My mum is not the sort of person to make a fuss and a result has suffered in silence. Because she has been made to wait so long for an operations, she has become disabled and needs round the clock care. She has had quite a few accidents and has fallen down the stairs."
Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board declined to comment on grounds of patient confidentiality. But hospital sources claim that Jan was advised at the 2018 appointment to speak to her GP if she needed more treatment. And she was then put on their waiting list for surgery after she was seen in December 2021.
Jackie Baillie, Scottish Labour's health spokesperson, said: "Ms Brown's case was first brought to the attention of the health service a number of years ago. It is unacceptable that her condition has now reached a level where she is unable to leave her house while she is stuck on a waiting list for surgery.
"The Scottish Government is presiding over the worst crisis in the NHS in living memory and people like Ms Brown are suffering as a consequence."
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