Sheffield woman's quality of life 'next to non-existent' after surgery cancelled due to Covid

Ailish McMillan suffers from endometriosis- a long-term condition affecting one in 10 women in the UK where tissue similar to the lining of the womb starts to grow in other places, such as the ovaries and fallopian tubes.

The 26-year-old has been battling symptoms such as severe pain, heavy bleeding and flu-like symptoms, and was relieved to find a consultant who specialises in the condition and scheduled her in for a third surgery as ‘the only viable treatment option’.

The operation was due to take place in March at the BMI Thornberry Hospital, which was block-booked by the NHS to free up capacity for coronavirus, but was cancelled two days before it was due to go ahead.

Ailish has now issued a desperate plea for help, and is keen to highlight the issue faced by many others in the same ‘devastating situation’ as the NHS struggles to cope.

She said: “Endometriosis destructively impacts my entire life. My quality of life is next-to non-existent. My relationships are strained and effortful.

"My education has been halted with the consequence of losing a number of distinction grade marks- they cannot be deferred.

"I can make no plans for the future- not for my studies, not for work opportunities, not even for a small trip away.

"I have to manage a tenuous relationship with heavy painkillers every day; that itself comes with its own set of difficult challenges. I can’t even care for my dog, who has been with me through two previous surgeries.

"Every day, I suffer with near constant nausea that’s resulted in rapid and very noticeable weight loss, further perpetuated by frequent and prolonged vomiting episodes.

"Every trip to the toilet is coupled with anxiety and intense fear of the inevitable pain that bodily functions incur.

"I wake up most days drenched in sweat; within minutes I’ll be sobbing at the reality of having to live through another day in my own body.

"My periods are harrowing- they come with intense flu-like symptoms, shockingly heavy bleeding and crippling cramps.

“But period pain doesn’t even come close to the severity of what follows it. I have no pain-free days in my month anymore.

"I regularly have mental health breakdowns rendering me incapable of caring for myself. Recent talks with my therapist, whom I had to contract privately last year, at great cost because I couldn't possibly face IAPT waiting times, concluded in confirmation that this severe bout of depression is triggered and perpetuated by Covid-19 interrupting my healthcare and the resulting life I’m being forced to live without treatment.”

Ailish says she has not been given a reschedule date, leaving her ‘completely in the dark’ with ‘no light at the end of the tunnel’.

During lockdown, she was rushed to A&E with what was assumed to be a kidney infection- but after tests were run, her symptoms were put down to ‘just endometriosis’ which she is still unable to access surgery for.

Ailish has looked into private treatment to avoid long waiting lists, but cannot afford it.

“The impact of Covid-19 on the NHS has resulted in halted or interrupted healthcare services for many people in the UK,” she said.

"Before Covid-19 struck the UK, it took me nearly 10 years to access vaguely appropriate treatment and get a diagnosis of endometriosis.

"I finally have a doctor who specialises in the condition that tortures me to seemingly unlimited degrees, but he can’t help me. Where does that leave me?”

A spokesperson for One Health group said: “You will no doubt be aware that as part of the national response to the Corona Virus in March this year, NHSE put in place an unprecedented national agreement with the extensive network of independent hospitals across the whole of the UK to create a significant uplift in bed capacity available to manage the anticipated surge in inpatient activity associated with the pandemic. This initiative also included the establishment of the network of Nightingale hospitals across the UK.

“At the same time, in preparation to accept the expected demands on the national infrastructure, and to maximise available hospital bed capacity, NHSE suspended all elective surgery apart from very urgent cases which were managed on a case by case basis through the NHS trusts. Though necessary to support the national response this unfortunately resulted in patients who had procedures planned after mid-March being cancelled and put on a waiting list until elective procedures were able to re-start in a safe way, in a hospital environment, as the risk of infection was mitigated to an acceptable level.

“Since March there has been a huge amount of work to establish processes and procedures to enable elective activity to restart, ensuring patients can safely return to clinics and hospitals, minimising the risk of infection to them, other patients, their consultant and any hospital staff. Patient safety is absolutely paramount for One Health.

“I’m pleased to say that very recently, following a reduction in the national and local rate of COVID infections, our local hospitals have been able to restart elective procedures on a priority basis and we are actively booking patients in for procedures where we have capacity. The two week self-isolation prior to any inpatient procedures has also recently been removed, making the process more straightforward and potentially a little quicker. I would stress that the available capacity is still limited whilst independent hospitals continue to support our local NHS trusts, and that this is a national position, and certainly not unique to Sheffield, whilst the agreement remains in place and the priority of patients being treated is determined by NHSE.

"I have spoken to our team and they are aware of Ailish’s situation and I can assure you she will be treated at the earliest opportunity by Mr Baxter who has an excellent reputation in his field.

“We appreciate the situation is far from ideal for Ailish, and many other patients currently on waiting lists across the UK, but assure you and Ailish that we, like many other providers, are working as hard as we can to restore services to our patients as quickly as possible whilst we also ensure NHSE has sufficient capacity to manage a second spike which could happen at the same time as winter flu. We will ensure that we keep Ailish appraised of the situation as we progress, and assure you again that she will be treated at the earliest opportunity.”