A disabled, 27 year old Zimbabwean woman Tendai Sithole Magume is traumatised after being being denied treatment from UK’s Leicester Royal Infirmary.
In a case that is set to disgrace hospital authorities, Magume who was born disabled with celebral palsy, was refused a vital operation for her leg.
She had been admitted at a ward (name withheld for purposes of confidentiality) around October 2013 for a chronic leg ulcer.
The ulcer was on one toe and half of the toe was due to be removed as it was heavily infected. However doctors refused to carry out the operation claiming she did not have proper immigration status to stay in the UK.
Sithole has a five year Family re union visa which at that time was still valid.
“I was being admitted into the very same ward I am in now and Doctors were refusing to operate and remove half of the infected toe.
“They said I did not have papers to live in the UK; they were continuously giving me antibiotics and refusing to carry out x rays and scans and carry out the operation,” said a distressed Magume.
It was after Magume contacted the UK Border Agency for clarification of the issue, that Doctors finally decided to treat her.
“It did not make any sense for the Doctors to say they could not operate on me as I was not entitled to treatment, the fact that they admitted me and were treating me with anti biotics already shows they were treating me.
“UKBA wrote a letter explaining to the hospital that I was entitled to treatment and that they were to continue treating me as before” explained Sithole.
By then the infection had spread and now two toes are chronically infected and have to be removed.
“I was being treated from home by District nurses who would carry out home visits” said Sithole. Sithole was admitted on the same ward at Leicester Royal last Thursday when Doctors called her in. She was receiving treatment and scans and x rays were carried out.
According to Magume an operation was to be performed but this has still not been done due to Doctors deciding the operation was not urgent.
An operation is expected in a month`s time.
Sithole was discharged from the ward on Monday and told to attend out patient appointments while waiting for the operation.
Sithole expressed her anger, pain and disappointment at the way she was treated at the hospital.
“Now I have to lose two toes instead of half, I have been discriminated and no one should ever have to go through that.
Health professionals should be knowledgeable about their work and procedures and where they are not sure should ask.
If the Doctors who were treating me had taken time to ask the UKBA I would not be losing two toes” said Sithole.
“I have decided to speak in case this is happening to someone else,” she added.
Sithole gave consent to this reporter to discuss her treatment with the Doctors and Nurses on the ward on Monday, however Doctors were not available and nurses said they were busy.
A comment from the hospital was still being sought at the time of writing.
She intends to sue Leicester Hospitals Trust.
More to follow…
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