"Lack of integrated care and follow up at Derriford Hospital"

I was admitted to Derriford Hospital for planned care, a brain decompression operation, in October 2013.

The urologist was called in to catheterise me after brain surgery, and had to put in an external, supra-public catheter because the three previous failed attempts to catheterise normally will have left damage that needed to be investigated prior to removal of the catheter. The doctor who did this also directed that they would call me back as an outpatient 4 days after my discharge, for this investigation and catheter removal to be done as a priority.

The brain surgeon accordingly instructed on 5 separate occasions over the following week, in my presence and hearing during rounds, that I should be discharged with a set appointment to come back into urology for this investigation. Each time he remarked that his team kept stating that they had not yet done this, on each occasion. This has still not been done.

A month later I am at home, but still have the catheter in, and now have a kidney infection. It could and should have been investigated and removed by the urologist who put it in.

I have complained to PALS who have apologised. Yet Derriford urology still claim they have never had a referral for me (even though they catheterised me in hospital) and have no plans to remove the catheter.

My GP made a new referral to Torbay Hospital closer to where I live, but apparently a waiting list of 13 - 18 weeks means that I could end up stuck with the bag for the rest of my life because of the damage done to my bladder. All of which could have been avoided if they had just followed the care plan they agreed with me.

I want an appointment to check my bladder for damage and remove the catheter urgently, but nobody is listening to me. Today PALS told me that there could be a significant wait, possibly also more that 13 weeks, for me to be seen at Derriford urology.

The doctors seem so stuck in following their 'systems' that have clearly failed in my situation, that they have abandoned common sense, integrated care, and respect for the potentially life changing consequences to me as the patient still stuck with a catheter bag for months on end when this is unnecessary.

I feel this is medical negligence and ask the CCG to follow up on this please.