POSTIE HASTE
Mailman crippled by knee cyst is told he will have to wait 42 WEEKS for an op
A POSTIE who can’t do his rounds because of an excruciating knee condition has been told he will have to wait 42 weeks for an operation.
Chris Colford, 53, from Clydebank, has a cyst the size of a tennis ball in his knee.
It went undetected for six months – even though he went to see his GP in agony – before he was finally placed on a waiting list for surgery 17 weeks ago.
Under the Patient Rights (Scotland) Act 2011 it’s a legal requirement that patients shouldn’t wait longer than 12 weeks for an operation after agreeing to the procedure.
Five weeks after the treatment standard was breached, Chris called Gartnavel Hospital in Glasgow to find out how much longer he would have to wait. That’s when he was told about the horrendous waiting list.
The father of two first saw a doctor about his knee last Easter.
He waited so long for a diagnosis that the cyst has caused further damage and he may now need a knee replacement.
Chris used to walk 10 miles a day on his rounds but struggles to cover 50 yards now.
He has been using crutches and a leg brace, which he had to buy himself.
His doctor said all he could do was up his painkillers to 10 a day.
Chris’s bosses have created an office job for him on a temporary basis.
But he said: “I know this position won’t last indefinitely and I am worried I may lose my job because I cannot do the work I am employed to do.”
With his two sons still at school, he is concerned about the financial effect on his family if he is “pensioned off ”.
His wife Jennifer, 39, said: “The doctor messed around for six months saying there was nothing wrong and that it would clear up by itself.
“It got to the stage he could barely walk on it and that’s when an MRI scan was done and the cyst was discovered. He was told initially it would be a 20-week wait max.”
Scottish Labour’s health spokesman Anas Sarwar said this isn’t an isolated case, adding: “I have been talking to GPs recently who told me, when they ring up to find out how long their patients will have to wait, they’re being told 38, 40 or 42 weeks.
“No one will put these times in writing but GPs are hearing this as well as patients.
“Thousands of people are being failed every year – and every week the Government are breaking their own law.”
Greater Glasgow & Clyde health board said treatment for “the vast majority” of their patients starts within 12 weeks.
A spokesman added: “Unfortunately, a number of patients awaiting orthopaedic treatment, including knee surgery, are waiting longer than we would like and we apologise for this.
“The board have put a number of measures in place to alleviate this and we’re working with hospitals to offer patients the earliest available date.”
I am worried I may lose my job because I can’t do the work I am paid to do CHRIS