Hull taxi driver who lost fingertip waited three days for surgery

A MAN who lost his fingertip in an accident has told how he was sent home from hospital with a bandage and forced to wait three days for surgery.

David Guiness was fixing a car in his garage at home in east Hull when his middle finger on his left hand became trapped.

A neighbour took him to the accident and emergency (A&E) department at Hull Royal Infirmary, where his wound was dressed and he was told he needed plastic surgery on his finger.

Mr Guiness, 49, was told to attend Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham the following day but the operation did not go ahead and he was asked to return the next morning.

However, due to a family funeral, he was unable to return to the hospital the next day and the operation did not go ahead until Saturday.

Now, Mr Guiness is planning to make a formal complaint to Hull And East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust as he claims he was left open to infection and he was unhappy about the delay.

He said: "I was frightened to death because I had an open wound and a chance of getting an infection.

"It was a freak accident and I'm in a lot of pain."

Mr Guiness, a taxi driver, also returned to the A&E department at the Anlaby Road hospital at about 6.30am on Friday, as his wound was weeping through the bandage and he was due to attend his brother-in-law's funeral later that day.

He said: "I went to A&E on Wednesday and they said I needed to see a plastic surgeon at Castle Hill straight away. But they were busy and they said I couldn't get it sorted that day.

"The nurse injected my finger with three needles, cleaned the wound and dressed it, giving me paperwork for Castle Hill the next day.

"At Castle Hill, they took the bandage off and said I would definitely be seen that day.

"It got to about 4.30pm and they came and took my blood pressure and got me ready for theatre.

"But then it got to 6.30pm and the nurse came to say the surgeon had been in touch and they couldn't do it that day.

"She asked me to come back on Friday but I couldn't because I was at a funeral."

Mr Guiness, who is taking painkillers and antibiotics, returned to the hospital for surgery on March 10 and will return for a check-up on March 20.

He said the accident left him in shock.

"I had a broken spring on the front suspension, so I loosened the suspension leg to lift it out and the spring slipped, trapping my finger," said Mr Guiness.

"As I pulled my hand away, my fingertip came off and my bone was sticking out of the end.

"When it happened, I was in shock.

"A few minutes later, the pain kicked in and it was horrible.

"It was throbbing and it was like my finger was ready to explode."

Yvette Oade, chief medical officer at Hull And East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, said the complaint from Mr Guiness will be investigated when it is received.

She said: "We cannot comment on an individual case but the trust is always concerned when the treatment we provide has not met the expectations of our patients.

"We have not received any formal complaint from Mr Guiness.

"However, we would encourage him to contact us so that we can investigate his concerns. We can then respond to him directly."