Rochester man says Medway Maritime Hospital treatment saga after bike crash in Ashford has left him drained and wanting to give up
06:00, 30 July 2021
A cyclist who escaped serious injury after colliding with a lorry is embroiled in a six-week treatment saga which has left him feeling "mentally drained" and wanting to give up.
Rochester resident Pete Webdale fell into the wheels of an HGV while out on a ride in Ashford and was rushed to William Harvey Hospital's A&E department.
He had damaged both hips and after being discharged developed a nasty infection.
But more than six weeks on and after several cancelled appointments and communication breakdowns at his local Medway Maritime Hospital he is no closer to a resolution and has made a formal complaint to the hospital.
Pete said: "Throughout this whole ordeal I have been pushed from pillar to post, department to department and the communication from the hospital has been nothing less than shocking."
He was injured while out on a ride on June 12 at the new junction 10a when he collided with the truck and the hospital cleaned and dressed his wounds before sending him home.
But 11 days later, Pete says one of the cuts on his right hip had become infected causing it to become "red, hot and very irritated", developing a fever with cold sweats and leaving him struggling to sleep at night.
He returned to the Gillingham hospital and says he received "fantastic" care from staff in A&E who showed concern and were informative about his treatment.
"I was then taken through to the consultants’ area of the A&E department and there I felt that the treatment changed," said Pete.
"The doctor just seemed to want to process people and move them on. My wound was re-dressed, and I was given a course of antibiotics, no painkillers, and sent home."
In the following weeks, Pete says his symptoms worsened and he was sent home from appointments which had been arranged for treatment he was told would be taking place on numerous occasions.
The 41-year-old says he had to constantly chase hospital departments for updates on his treatment and surgery he was told he needed and did not receive calls back which had been promised.
He went nil by mouth in anticipation of a surgical procedure taking place multiple times but was told when arriving at hospital the next day it would not be going ahead and receiving different information about what course of action he required.
Pete added: "I felt like giving up and not bothering and letting this thing on my leg do whatever it wanted to do.
"I felt that there was no care from the hospital at all and I was just a number to them and they were not really bothered what happened to me.
"I still have no end in sight with regard to what is happening and cannot sit on this any longer as I actually cannot see the hospital resolving this issue without any form of external intervention, any time I have wanted or needed to know something I have had to make all the calls.
"It feels as though I am just lost in the system and things only happen if I jump up and down and make a song and dance, this is not how the NHS should operate."
Pete is now taking his matter through the hospital's complaints process and wrote to management on July 12 and has been told it will be responded to by August 26.
He is now waiting on a referral to a specialist but says has not yet received any information saying he is "none-the-wiser on what is actually happening".
"I felt like giving up and not bothering and letting this thing on my leg do whatever it wanted to do"
Pete said: "From my part there is total dissatisfaction with the service received and it has made me consider how I get treatment going forward.
"The whole process has not only impacted on myself both mentally and physically but also affected my family due to the number of mis-led visits.
"To tell them I was going in for one thing and coming home after nothing had been done was not only confusing but also upsetting for them
"I personally do not feel that the NHS will do anything and the fact I am still having to chase up the complaints department to try and get information from them just shows how little they care.
"The whole process has just been one disaster after another and the people who are supposedly in charge and senior members of staff take no responsibility for their cases."
Dr George Findlay, chief executive at Medway NHS Foundation Trust, said: “I’m very sorry to hear that Mr Webdale has been unhappy with his care.
"We are in the process of investigating the issues that he has raised with us. We will be contacting Mr Webdale to discuss the results of this investigation when it has been completed."
