A Leeds man in agony for months with a shoulder injury has suffered more than 30 dislocations after his surgery was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Gregory Metcalfe was waiting for keyhole surgery to repair his shoulder joint seven months ago and has yet to be told when the procedure can take place.
The 44-year-old was told in October by Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust that his surgery would be postponed due to rising numbers of coronavirus patients.
And since the initial injury almost a year ago, Gregory remains in constant pain - and says his shoulder has dislocated more than 30 times.
He said when this happens he has to pop the shoulder back into place himself and he's worried about what this is doing to the joint long term.
He said: "There are times where the pain has been pretty brutal, to be honest. I am at a stage now where I have become used to it, but the pain hasn't really gone away.
"It dislocates all the time, whenever I'm using my arm and shoulder it's at risk of popping back out. I have learned how to pop it back in safely, but it's probably not exactly good for my joints long-term!"
Gregory had already been waiting several months when the surgery was postponed - and he still has not ben told when he'llbe able to have the procedure that will end his pain.
He said: "I would have though they would have done a better job, to be honest.
"Obviously it's a really tough time right now and there are people dying, it's awful.
"But I would imagine that there others, like me, who are in real need of medical attention, too.
"Who knows what this could do to my shoulder and arms long-term. Obviously, I need my shoulder!"
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Gregory hopes to hear back from his doctors soon - until then he'll be living with and trying to manage the pain.
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has confirmed to LeedsLive that whilst some non-emergency surgeries are now being undertaken, patients are chosen based on 'clinical need'.
The trust hopes that they will be able to increase operations, including procedures for patients like Gregory, within the next few weeks.
David Berridge, deputy chief medical officer at the trust, said: “Patients continue to receive surgery based on clinical need, making the best use of existing NHS facilities against a backdrop of unprecedented pressure from high Covid-19 infection rates and non-Covid winter demands.
“Every patient’s care is important to us and to make sure we can continue to provide safe care in our hospitals we have postponed some planned elective operations. This is not a decision we have taken lightly, and we apologise to those patients who this affects.
“We are hopeful that if Covid-19 infection rates locally continue to fall we will be able to increase further elective activity, including orthopaedic procedures, in the coming weeks.”
