Op woman starved for almost 24 hours
Diabetic blacked out after being left in hospital waiting room
A diabetic woman was forced to starve herself for a whole day for an operation which never took place.
Donna Upton passed out in the waiting room of Milton Keynes Hospital treatment centre – but had to wait another five hours before she was told the operation had been cancelled.
The Beanhill resident was admitted to hospital on the morning of Wednesday, March 10, after being told not to eat for the 12 hours leading up to the cystoscopy – a procedure to help cure her bladder problems.
She arrived at the treatment centre at 7.45am and was told she was first on the list to have her operation at 9am.
But at around midday, wracked with hunger, she had what was described as 'a funny turn' and blacked out, forcing doctors to reconsider whether they could operate or not.
However, rather than send her home doctors kept Ms Upton waiting for hours with no word on when she would be called in.
She did not hear anything else until 5pm, when she was told the operation had been cancelled.
Ms Upton said: "I understand you're not allowed to eat or drink before an operation but after starving myself, expecting an operation at 9am, to be left until 5pm, and then not even operated on is ludicrous.
"They kept telling me to hold on and wait and that they were just getting ready for me and that it was just going to be 10 minutes.
"But that all changed when I blacked out. I don't remember much about it at all.
"Because I am diabetic I can't leave it that long between eating as my blood sugar levels drop.
" I expected to wait until 9am or 10am, but not to have to wait until 5pm and then not even have the operation.
"By then I made a bit of a fuss so that I could get something to eat because it was making me unwell.
"So they gave me something and then sent me home soon after."
She has now been told by doctors that she will have to be referred to the neurology department, but has not been told when or where the procedure will take place.
Citizen First approached Milton Keynes Hospital for a comment, but at the time of going to press it had not responded.
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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