A MAN claims he had ten hospital appointments unfairly cancelled while his prostate cancer aggressively grew.
69-year-old Ian Walker, who is originally from Birmingham but now lives in Malvern, said he was initially referred to Worcester Royal Hospital after blood tests with his GP found he had a Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level of 6.1 per cent.
He claims a string of “nightmare” cancellations over a 10-month period saw it rise by 30 per cent before he actually found out he had cancer.
PSA is a protein produced by the prostate gland, which is measured in the blood to help detect or monitor prostate cancer.
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Dr Jules Walton, chief medical officer at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust said the hospital has since been in contact with Mr Walker to look into the concerns raised and apologised if his experience fell below its standards.
Mr Walker’s first incident arose when he was sent for an MRI, so the hospital staff could target key areas more effectively when testing for cancer.
A sufferer of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Mr Walker explained that lying on his back in the machine made it feel like he was choking, due to the build-up of phlegm.
“Breathing is bloody difficult for me,” he explained. “It felt like being buried in a jet engine alive. Damn noisy, hot, and I couldn’t breathe.”
Mr Walker eventually pulled the panic button, requesting to use a larger MRI machine in Redditch so that he could lie on his side.
He claims that instead of receiving the opportunity to do this, he was instead booked in for a string of blind biopsies – where medical staff test potential affected areas without the MRI results to guide them. He did not want to do this because he feels there is grater risk involved.
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Ten cancellations
Mr Walker claims that over the next ten months he was booked in for ten appointments – some for blind biopsies and some for meetings with a consultant – all of which were cancelled.
He said he cancelled going to a wedding and celebrating a birthday in order to attend them, but all the appointments were cancelled before he had the opportunity to attend.
Mr Walker speculates that this was to ensure he didn’t remain on a list for too long as untreated, ensuring the hospital kept up with quotas, feeling in this period ‘like a computer game was being played with his life’.
PSA rise of 30 per cent
After repeated efforts to attend, including one instance where he claims an appointment was cancelled in front of him in the hospital, Mr Walker ultimately returned to his GP for a second blood test.
“(My PSA) went up by 30 percent in 10 months,” he said. “It rocketed.”
He claims he was suddenly allowed access to the larger MRI machine in Redditch.
“I had it and they found a very serious cancer.
“I have got one of the most serious cancer I can get. They did it to keep down their numbers to make sure they didn’t have me on their books for too long.
“I’m sitting here with a very serious cancer now. I have got three years of pills and radiation therapy and if I’m lucky I will survive.”
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Dr Jules Walton, Chief Medical Officer at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust said: “While we would not comment in detail on an individual patient’s case, we have been in contact with the patient to look into the concerns that they have raised.
“We set ourselves high standards of patient care and apologise if they feel any part of their experience fell below this.”
