An elderly Borough couple says they were left housebound by a painful, “foul-smelling” medical condition because their bandages weren’t changed for a week, fearing the strikes are partially to blame.
Albert Pointing, 81, and his wife Susan, 68, from the Scovell Estate, suffer from lymphoedema – an excruciating condition that makes limbs swell and ooze yellow fluid.
The couple said their dressings should be replaced twice weekly but they were left without help for a week because Guys’ and St Thomas’ (GSTT) nurses kept cancelling.
One of many excuses for not turning up were the strikes, said Albert, which the couple support saying the nurses need batter pay and working conditions, however they fear as they are already overstretched more cancellations will happen.
Unable to go shopping due to the pain, the couple were living on spaghetti on toast for the week while their legs “dripped like a sieve”.
After the News got in contact with GSTT, nurses finally visited and replaced the bandages yesterday (Thursday, February 9).
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Albert is a retired Southwark Council caretaker and once received a community award for raising money for local children to go to the seaside.
“I’m in agony. It looks like something from a horror film. Let’s put it this way – at the moment it’s as if I’ve got loads of fingers clawing at me,” he said.
He said that the smell leaves him embarrassed to leave the house and he uses aftershave to try and conceal the odour.
But after Thursday, February 2, nurses failed to visit for a week, leaving his bandages “filthy, rotten dirty”.
Albert said last year his bandages were left for over a week and maggots appeared in his legs. Thankfully, they weren’t there this time.
He says a nurse told him over the phone that the strikes were partially to blame.
“I think some of the nurses deserve a rise and are dedicated and worth their weight in gold,” Albert said.
But he also said: “But sometimes it feels like they think you’re over the hill so they couldn’t care less. It really gets me down.”
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Susan, a retired Southwark cleaner, had explained: “Because they haven’t done it for a week it’s really sore and stinging. Last week they said it was getting better but it’s soaking wet.”
Unable to go shopping because the condition became so painful, the couple said they’d been living off Weetabix and spaghetti on toast.
Albert also says he spent £80 topping up his phone in desperate attempts to call the hospital.
Comment: The government has betrayed this sick elderly couple
A Guys’ and St Thomas’ spokesperson said: “We are very sorry that our visit to Mr and Mrs Pointing had to be rescheduled from 6 February to 9 February. They have been offered an additional visit this weekend and will be seen again on Monday.”