Man with severed thumb waited days for surgery

Hospital bosses have apologised after an accident and emergency patient spent four days waiting for an operation on a severed thumb.
By The Newsroom
Published 8th Apr 2011, 10:09 BST

Ray Clarkson, of Cowling, Keighley went without food or drink for over 30 hours while waiting for a theatre slot at Bradford Royal Infirmary after he was transferred from Airedale General Hospital.

The operation was finally carried out on the fourth day after Mr Clarkson’s wife complained.

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But when the open wound was examined ahead of surgery it had become infected as the dressing had not been changed for three days.

A spokesman for Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “We have spoken with Mr and Mrs Clarkson and apologised for the delay in treatment. Our operating theatres were extremely busy with emergency cases. We are reviewing our systems in this area to make service improvements and avoid this happening in the future.”