NHS worker Barbara Ramsay, 73, who is a mother and a grandmother, was initially told she faced a 50 week wait for the procedure following her referral to Carlisle’s Cumberland Infirmary.
This was despite her condition severely affecting her physical and mental health as it leaves her in pain, unable to work, and able to leave her home for only short periods of time.
Mrs Ramsay, who lives in Brampton, is now facing the likelihood that she will have to give up her admin job at Carlisle’s Carleton Clinic psychiatric facility and become dependent on benefits as her sick pay entitlement is due to cease.
Doctors who assessed her following a diagnosis of a “stage 4 uterine prolapse” initially said in January that she faced a 26 week wait for surgery.
“I first went to the doctor a year ago January,” she explained. “I was told I needed an operation six months ago, possibly longer. But each time when I’ve called the secretaries, I’ve been given a different timeframe.
“Initially, I was told it would be 26 weeks because it was classified as an urgent hysterectomy.
“But when I phoned to see if I was on the waiting list, I was told that, because the junior doctors had been on strike, it had increased to a 50 week wait. That was about two or three months ago.
“They later reduced that to 40 weeks.
“So, I’ve gone from working full-time at the Carleton Clinic to having this condition and needing checks at the hospital. I’ve lost a lot of confidence in going out.”
She said her medical condition involves always needing access to a readily available toilet. “My life has become very restricted,” she said.
Mrs Ramsay said the continuing uncertainty of her situation and the restrictions on her life are affecting her mental health. “I’m just waiting for something to happen; there seems to be no end to it.
“It’s a kind of mental torture.
“It was an urgent referral, so I feel that I should be given a date. That way, I could count down the days. That would allow me to mentally prepare for that. It’s just the not knowing.
“I have no idea how long this will go on for. I’ve already lived with this a year, but I don’t want to have to wait for another year before it can be sorted out.”
Her daughter Gair Atkinson, 43, said: “My mum has worked all her life, paid her National Insurance, and for the first time ever she needs medical attention.
“She has lost over two stones in weight and can no longer do the day to day tasks like she was able to. It feels like she’s getting pushed aside.”
A spokeswoman for North Cumbria Integrated Care, the NHS Foundation Trust responsible for The Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle and West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven, said: “We are sorry that Mrs Ramsay is experiencing pain and discomfort while she waits for her procedure.
“Our team will be in touch with her directly to discuss her ongoing care and treatment.
“The NHS does not have a set waiting time for hysterectomies other than for those which are cancer-related. Unfortunately, we do have a waiting list for this procedure, and we prioritize those whom we class as most ‘clinically urgent’.
“Work is underway to introduce an additional gynecology theater session to help reduce our waiting times moving forward.”
The most recent CQC (Care Quality Commission) inspection report for the Trust concludes that four of the trust’s 17 services “require improvement”.
It said: “The service did not always have enough staff to care for patients and keep them safe. Not all staff had training in key skills…”
The report also highlights concerns over infection control and the management of pain relief and the safe storage of medicines, and managing safety.
But inspectors said that staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, and took into account their individual needs, providing emotional support to patients, families and carers.
The report rates surgery services at trust as “good.”
The trust spokeswoman said that the Trust’s latest performance data from February showed that 7,078 people (not cancer patients) started treatment in that month and there were fewer patients waiting more than 52 weeks and no patients waiting longer than 104 weeks.
“Like all NHS Trusts we have large numbers of patients waiting for elective care,” she said. “There are currently around 39,000 people on our waiting list for procedures across our services.”
In Cancer services in February, the Trust exceeded the faster diagnosis cancer standards with three out of four people receiving a definitive cancer diagnosis or all clear within four weeks.
The 31 day standard for a decision from diagnosis to treatment also improved, reaching at 96.4%. The spokeswoman added: “Our performance demonstrates clear progress; however we know there are still patients waiting longer than we would like so we remain focused on making further improvements to reduce waiting times across our services.”
