Martin Wild, 73, lost nearly a stone in weight in a single month while in hospital (Picture: Martin Wild)
A pensioner who was left lying in his own urine had to dial 999 from his hospital bed after being denied painkillers because staff shortages meant he was ‘not a priority’.
Described by one doctor as ‘the most neglected patient I have ever seen’, Martin Wild, 73, lay amid patients who were shouting and screaming for help after he’d been admitted to Salford Royal Hospital last year, MailOnline reported.
His five-month ordeal was so horrific, he was left wishing for a quick death.
At one point he told his wife: ‘I was in so much pain, I was shaking. But nobody seemed to bother.
‘I told my wife Lorraine, “I can’t stand it anymore. If I am going to die in hospital, let it be soon.”‘
Northern Care Alliance, the NHS trust that runs Salford General Hospital, apologised to Martin Wild for the ‘serious harm’ caused by the hospital’s care (Picture: Martin Wild)
Martin spent a total of eight months in Salford Royal Hospital (Picture: Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images)
Wild, who has Parkinson’s, had been admitted to the hospital to be treated for a spinal infection developed after a private operation.
The former car salesman was initially taken to Fairfield Hospital A&E in Bury on May 8, two weeks after undergoing surgery to treat spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spine.
He was then transferred to Salford Royal Hospital where he was admitted to an acute medical ward.
However, on the acute ward, Wild struggled to have his pain addressed due to the staff being overwhelmed by patient numbers.
He said: ‘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.’
Eventually he was given painkillers after multiple calls to hospital receptionists over a period of hours.
He was later discharged from hospital with 40 boxes of medication, including opioids, despite warning staff he was not well enough and did not have adequate care at home.
One staff member described this as a failing by hospital managers ‘desperate to clear a bed’, The Independent reported.
Wild was readmitted days later, but his poor care continued, he claimed.
He was even left lying in urine for hours before the soaked sheets were changed, according to Wild.
His wife Lorraine, a former nurse, told The Independent: ‘There were three full bottles of urine on his table with his food.
‘One day he spilled a bottle of urine on his bed at 8:15 am and, despite buzzing for staff for the bedding and nightwear to be changed, they cancelled his buzzer and didn’t come back.
‘This led him to be served breakfast and lunch [and] two lots of medication whilst lying in a urine soaked bed.’
Martin’s wife Lorraine said it looked like he’d died during his hospital stay (Picture: Martin Wild)
Wild had lost nearly a stone in weight in a single month by the time he was transferred to a specialist in a different ward where his care improved.
Lorraine said: ‘His body was almost degrading with a lack of nutrients. At one point I thought he’d died.’
One staff member involved in his care said: ‘I’ve seen dead patients who looked better than he did.
‘I have never, in my decades-long career seen somebody who was neglected to that degree in a hospital. This was institutional neglect.
‘All the other failures would’ve been brought back on track if there had been an overseer of his care.’
An investigation into Wild’s care found it had caused him serious harm, after initially classing it as moderate harm.
The report by Northern Care Alliance the NHS trust that runs Salford Royal said staff had failed to identify concerns with Wild’s eating and drinking.
It blamed the level of experience of nursing staff, made up of a junior workforce at the time, The Independent reported.
Wild told the Mirror: ‘It was a combination of a lack of staff and people who were trained but really chasing around.
‘Others who were not trained were trying to do the best they could.’
NHS waiting time have soared in recent years (Picture: datawrapper/Getty /Metro.co.uk)
Judith Adams, the trust’s chief delivery officer, said: ‘We want all our patients and users to feel that their health and wellbeing is our top priority, and sincerely apologise that this has not been the experience for Mr Wild and his family.’
The NHS has been wracked with staff shortages and soaring waiting times amid a crisis that’s seen patients sleeping on floors, sat on trolleys or queuing in ambulances as they wait for a bed.
More than 40% of patients who attended A&E in England waited at least four hours to be seen last year, according to data released last week.
That’s the equivalent of around 900,000 patients each month, a five-fold increase in a decade.
By December, the number of vacant roles in the NHS had fallen by nearly 14,000 compared with the same time the previous year.
That’s the lowest level in two and a half years, but more than 110,000 roles remain vacant, putting pressure on existing staff.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said it was ‘sorry for what Mr Wild had to endure’.
They said a £2.4 billion plan to boost the NHS workforce in the long-term had been announced by the government last year.
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