Carlisle hospital left dad with 'life-changing' stomach injuries

It is now almost 18 months since Paul Shakespeare was rushed in for emergency surgery after developing sepsis.

He praised surgeons but says he was forced out of bed too quickly, resulting in his stomach wound bursting open.

The 63-year-old is now living with huge, unsightly scars and bulges across his stomach, and is in constant pain.

He claims he has been abandoned by hospital bosses, and is desperate for some sort of corrective surgery.

"It's not right that the infirmary can just leave me like this. I've never even had an apology. I just feel they should take some responsibility and do something," said the former taxi driver.

"I just want to be able to stand up like a man again, without this bringing me down. I just wish they'd do something for me."

Hospital bosses say that, after being made aware of his complaint, they have now launched an investigation into his care.

Mr Shakespeare, who lives in Scaleby Close, Upperby, went into hospital in April 2017 for a gallbladder operation.

Doctors were initially reluctant to operate as he had almost died from sepsis several years earlier.

They therefore opted for keyhole surgery, to reduce the risk of infection, and Mr Shakespeare said it seemed to go well leaving only a small wound. But after being home for a few days, he developed sepsis again.

The father-of-two, who lives with partner Lynne O'Neill, said: "I hadn't really been well but just thought I was getting over the operation. Come Friday, my partner couldn't wake me up in the morning. She called the GP and an ambulance was sent.

"I don't remember any of this. I was unconscious. If I had been at home on my own I would have died."

He was rushed into hospital, where doctors drained the sepsis and stitched him back up again. He said he has no complaints about the surgery, it is what happened afterwards that has left him devastated.

"This time I had a scar about 10 inches long down my stomach. They did a fantastic job," he said.

"But the following day there were two people who came onto the ward to see me, a man and a woman. One was a physio and the other was an occupational therapist.

"The woman said 'come on Mr Shakespeare, let's get you out of bed'. I told her I wasn't strong enough and it didn't feel safe, bearing in mind I'd just been drained of sepsis, washed out and sewn back up.

"She wasn't happy. She turned around and said that if I didn't she would tell the consultant I was refusing treatment.

"I didn't want to cause any trouble so I agreed, even though it didn't feel right. It was against my will, but you do as you're told. They helped me out of bed and I walked a few steps, then my stomach burst open.

"I had a gown on but you could see it was bleeding. It started off as just a little but, but by the time they'd sat me down it had all opened up. I had a hole in my stomach big enough to fit my hand in.

"I said 'take me back to theatre and close me up', but they said they couldn't."

Instead, doctors tried different methods to encourage the would to heal faster. He was sent home, but had to have a nurse visiting every day to attend to his wound.

"That's how the team left me. They said it would be healed by September but it took until Christmas," said Mr Shakespeare.

He has since developed huge post-operative hernias across his stomach, adding to his misery and pain.

"My stomach has become a huge hernia. I've got life-changing injuries and am in a lot of pain. The hernia hurts deep down. I see that as a failed duty of care," he said.

Mr Shakespeare said he has waited months for doctors to decide what they can do for him, and now feels abandoned.

He said he was referred for an urgent CT scan to find out if his scar was fused to his intestine back in May, but hasn't heard anything since.

He also received a copy of a letter, back in July, to a specialist in Newcastle, and hoped he may finally get further surgery. But he has heard nothing since then.

Although he doesn't blame his surgeons, Mr Shakespeare is upset about his aftercare and doesn't feel his concerns were taken seriously.

"I'm a type 2 diabetic, so I heal a lot slower than most people. I don't think they took that into consideration when they came to get me out of bed. They wouldn't listen to me," he said.

"It was too soon. It clearly hadn't healed enough. For them to say I was refusing treatment really upset me. I wasn't ready - physically or mentally."

He said at present he has no quality of life and would be willing to take the chance of getting sepsis again.

He also has severe back problems, but said the pain from his injuries is adding to his misery and leaving him isolated at home.

"What I want is for someone to operate. They have kept me hanging around all this time. I feel abandoned. Surely they can't leave me like this. Is this the Cumberland Infirmary's idea of duty of care? This has changed my life. I don't go out on my own at all now."

Dr Rod Harpin, medical director at North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the infirmary, said: “We are very concerned to hear that Mr Shakespeare is unhappy with the care he has received as we always strive to offer the highest quality of care.

"We have contacted Mr Shakespeare directly and, with his consent, we have now logged his concerns as a complaint so we can carry out a full investigation which we will involve him in.”