Neglected Parkinson’s patient, 73, calls 999 for help… from his own hospital bed after being denied painkillers because he was ‘not a priority’

A pensioner who was left in excruciating pain has told how he had to dial 999 from his own hospital bed for help, in one of the most harrowing examples of the crisis in the NHS.

Martin Wild was admitted to Salford Royal Hospital last year after developing a spinal infection following a private operation. 

The 73-year-old was denied pain relief because of staff shortages and even left lying in his own urine during his horrifying eight-month stay in hospital, he claimed. Other patients nearby were also shouting and screaming for help.

At one point Mr Wild, who also has Parkinson’s, told his wife: ‘If I am going to die in this hospital, let it be soon.’

A doctor who assessed Mr Wild described him as being ‘the most neglected patient I have ever seen’.

An investigation by the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, found his care caused him ‘serious harm’ and apologised for its failings. 

Mr Wild, a former car salesman, was initially taken to Fairfield Hospital A&E in Bury on May 8, two weeks after an operation to treat spinal stenosis, surgery for narrowing of the spine. 

He was transferred to Salford Royal hours later and admitted to an acute medical ward.

Recalling his shocking ordeal, Mr Wild added: ‘I asked for some pain relief. They said, “We’ve got no powers to prescribe [an opioid].” I asked, “Can you get a doctor?”.

‘They said: “They’re busy with over 100 patients, you’re not a priority.” I was in agony so I phoned 999.’

Mr Wild was eventually given painkillers after multiple calls to hospital receptionists.  

He was later discharged despite warning medics he was not well enough and did not have adequate care at home. 

But even after he was readmitted days later, Mr Wild claimed that his poor care at the hospital continued. 

‘I was in so much pain, I was shaking but nobody seemed to bother,’ he told the Daily Mirror.

‘I told my wife Lorraine, “I can’t stand it anymore. If I am going to die in hospital, let it be soon”.’ 

In one grim incident, he also knocked one of the three full bottles of urine which were stood on his table, onto his bed after shaking so much in pain. 

Mr Wild claimed he was left lying in urine-soaked sheets for hours before they were eventually changed.

After he was transferred to a new ward in September, Glyn Smurthwaite, a consultant anaesthetist, was called in by a colleague to assess Mr Wild.

‘He was the most neglected patient I have ever seen in an acute setting in my 38 years in the medical profession,’ he said.

The retired medic said it was clear Mr Wild had suffered as there was no consultant leading his care for months.

Mr Wild’s wife Lorraine, a former nurse, also said she has had to battle for Northern Care Alliance to carry out a serious incident investigation into his treatment. 

The investigation outcome initially described the care he received as causing moderate harm, but she fought to have it upgraded to serious harm. 

Judith Adams, chief delivery officer for Northern Care Alliance, said changes have been made to ‘learn from Mr Wild’s experience’ to ensure ‘every patient and their family receives appropriate and responsive care’.

But Mr Wild has said his experience has dented his faith in the health service. 

‘The NHS is not the NHS that I thought it was going to be, I thought I’d be looked after by people who care for me’, he added. 

Mr Smurthwaite also claimed he was ‘absolutely not satisfied’ that cases like his would not happen again. 

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman apologised ‘for what Mr Wild had to endure’.

It added a £2.4billion plan to boost the NHS workforce in the long-term had been announced by the government last year. 

Experts have long warned the situation is only going to get worse, with the ailing NHS stuck in an ‘eternal winter’ amid staffing shortages and unprecedented demand. 

Fresh data released last week also exposed the ‘dire’ state of the NHS, with more than 40 per cent of patients who attended A&E last year in England waiting at least four hours to be seen.

This is the equivalent of around 900,000 every month. 

It marks a five-fold rise in the space of a decade, illustrating the extent of the crisis which has seen patients forced to sleep on the floor or sat on trolleys in hospital corridors as they wait for a bed.