Woman removes cyst from own eye after years waiting for op

An 84-year-old retired nurse removed a cyst from her own eye after waiting years for treatment, a report has found.

The account was revealed in a citizen experiences report presented during a meeting of the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board on Thursday, which looked at the long delays facing people awaiting treatment for conditions in north Wales.

It found some frustrated NHS patients were taking matters into their own hands, with another patient carrying out their own tooth filling with a kit from the chemist.

The health board said it acknowledged that "significant work" remained to address challenges in a "sustainable, long-term way".

The woman, who is still waiting for an eye operation, initially waited three years to be seen after being placed on the ophthalmology waiting list in 2019.

She had some procedures but said they "did not help", so was eventually driven to carry out the dangerous procedure herself, according to the report.

"She is waiting for an eye operation, which was requested in October 2023, and her eyesight is deteriorating rapidly," it said.

"As a former nurse and nurse manager, she has given her working life to care for other people. Now she needs some care of her own."

The report described long waits experienced by patients in the emergency departments at Ysbyty Gwynedd, Ysbyty Wrexham Maelor, and Ysbyty Glan Clwyd hospitals.

Patients were found to be waiting up to 36 hours and "overcrowding, uncertainty, and discomfort" were also common concerns.

The public consultation had been part of a "listening and understanding" initiative aimed at improving the design and delivery of care and services.

There had been 300 enquiries from MPs and MSs over their constituents' experiences, with waiting times the main focus.

Another case was a man who wanted to join the Army, but was unable to because of the health of his teeth.

The report said the man had not been able to find an NHS dentist nearby due to a "chronic shortage" of dentists in north Wales, and private dentists quoted a minimum of £3,000 for treatment.

Community conversations highlighted issues over outpatient waiting times, access to services, ambulance and emergency department delays, and communication.

Waiting was found to have had a "catastrophic impact" on one patient's life who suffered daily pain, and another, awaiting an operation for bladder stones, endured "continual bleeding".

Llais, the body which gives people a "voice" when accessing health services, also gathered data which found people had "significant challenges" accessing timely and affordable primary care, difficulty accessing GP appointments and the absence or loss of NHS dental provision.

Delayed treatment or self-management of dental problems had manifested sometimes in "unsafe or distressing" ways, including one patient "filling their own tooth with a kit from the dentist".

Another patient reported waiting "12 hours in a corridor on a trolley".

Long delays for specialist services, including audiology, cataract surgery, neuro-developmental assessment, and respiratory care were also "a major concern".

A meeting to discuss the report heard that despite many people highlighting "dissatisfaction or frustration", many other participants had also expressed "gratitude" and praise for the "professionalism and compassion" by hospital staff, members and teams.

The report said measures had been taken by the board to address calls for improvements.

In dental care, this included creating contracts worth more than £1.5m to expand NHS dental provision and a new dental access portal, launched in February, was also helping "simplify and centralise" access to care.

Further procurement exercises, covering general dental services, orthodontics, oral surgery, and non-urgent access, also totalled more than £5m.

Improvements to areas such as emergency departments, dermatology, gynaecology, physiotherapy musculoskeletal, cancer services, and a midwifery ward bereavement suite had also been implemented.

In neuro-developmental services, it said a child and adolescent mental health improvement programme was in place to provide mental health support for children and young people.