A pensioner who fell and shattered her shoulder had to wait eight “agonising” days for an operation to repair the damage.
Shiela Lawtie attended Aberdeen Royal Infirmary four times before she finally underwent surgery, travelling more than 400 miles as she went back and forth from her home in Spey Bay.
The delays were due to staff shortages, and now the 69-year-old and her husband Sandy are calling for NHS Grampian to review its practices.
Mrs Lawtie tripped as she was entering her home, and crashed into her doorjamb.
Her right shoulder bore the brunt of the fall, and, after being rushed to Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin, it emerged she had dislocated it and broken her arm.
But the hospital does not have a shoulder specialist, and Mrs Lawtie was referred to Aberdeen for treatment.
She said: “Though I was given painkillers, I was in a great deal of pain. We visited Aberdeen to see consultants the day after the accident, and then that Saturday and the following Monday, but nothing went ahead.
“Going back and forth to Aberdeen with a broken shoulder wasn’t pleasant.
“It was that following Wednesday, eight days after it happened, when I did receive surgery.”
Mrs Lawtie had been out buying food from a visiting fish van when the accident occurred last month.
The trader and her husband helped her into her home, and Mr Lawtie promptly took her to Dr Gray’s.
They learned that her shoulder joint was badly damaged and her right arm was broken just below the shoulder joint. She was instructed to attend ARI the next day.
But the couple say they were left waiting there all day before discovering that the specialist who could help was in Cambridge, and were sent home.
They returned four days later for further tests, and were told to attend for surgery on the following Monday.
But when they arrived that day, they were dismayed to learn that the hospital did not have the correct parts for Mrs Lawtie’s shoulder and were again sent home.
After an overnight stay, she was finally operated on early on Wednesday, March 23.
Mrs Lawtie stressed she had no quarrel with her treatment by medical professionals, and praised the specialists who tended to her.
But, now recovering at home after having a new shoulder ball and socket fitted, she is desperate to highlight the failings that caused her to endure an excruciating wait prior to the operation.
Mr Lawtie, a former distilleries manager, described the ordeal as “the worst eight days of our lives”.
He added: “I think it is scandalous that my wife had to wait eight days before surgery.
“She went through a lengthy period of suffering. It’s clear that NHS Grampian doesn’t have the staff it needs and something must be done about that.”
Last night, a spokeswoman for the health authority said: “We are sorry to hear about Mrs Lawtie’s experience.
“We would encourage her to contact our feedback service and we will investigate fully.”
Last month, it emerged that almost one in 10 senior doctors’ posts are lying vacant in north and north-east health boards.
