Brighton man left in his own waste has nightmare A&E visit

Hove resident Bradley Rafe went into A&E at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton on June 23 after suffering acute abdominal pain.

After an initial examination, Mr Rafe, 58, was put into a bed in the A&E ward.

By now, he was in "absolute agony", he said.

It would later transpire that he was suffering from a strangulated hernia - a life-threatening surgical emergency in which part of the intestine bursts through a weak point in the abdominal wall, and becomes trapped.

When Mr Rafe needed to use the toilet, he tried desperately to get a member of staff to help him but he felt ignored.

"I was begging to go to toilet," he said, "begging and begging.

"But nobody came."

Mr Rafe says he is 'petrified' at the thought of having to go back to the Royal Sussex (Image: Sussex News and Pictures)

Eventually, with no one to help him out of bed, Mr Rafe was forced to defecate and urinate on himself.

He says he spent the next 20 minutes "begging and pleading" for someone to help clean him, but he said nobody responded.

After a while, Mr Rafe again needed the toilet.

"I was crying my eyes out in agony, begging for someone to help," he said.

But once again, no help came.

Still covered in his own mess, and in excruciating pain, Mr Rafe somehow managed to get out of bed and hobble to the toilet unassisted.

But, despite his continued pleas, he still received no help in tidying himself, he said.

Eventually, he was given a nappy to wear.

He says that he asked a male nurse for help. According to Mr Rafe, the nurse told him to put his nappy and trousers on.

"But I wasn’t clean," Mr Rafe said. "I was covered in it."

University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust has apologised to Mr Rafe for the treatment he received (Image: Sarah Booker-Lewis)

With Mr Rafe's condition becoming more severe, he was then transferred to the Acute Medical Unit (AMU), where he said he was treated "like a human being".

Staff were able to contact Mr Rafe’s partner, who then came to the hospital and helped Mr Rafe wash himself in a shower.

"In 26 years of being together, he’s never seen me in a state like that," Mr Rafe said.

After undergoing surgery on his hernia, Mr Rafe was discharged from the Royal Sussex on June 28.

But the "horrendous" experience has left its mark.

"I’m not in good health," Mr Rafe said, "so I’ll probably have to go back to that hospital.

"But I’m petrified to go back there after the way they treated me.

"I’ve never felt so disgusted. You wouldn’t leave a dog lying in their own crap.

"It’s disgusting."

Mr Rafe described his 'horrendous' experience at the Royal Sussex County Hospital (Image: NQ)

The Royal Sussex County Hospital is operated by the University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust.

Gail Byrne, interim chief nurse at University Hospitals Sussex, said: "Our teams have spoken directly with Mr Rafe to apologise for the distress he was caused in our care, and we fully recognise how upsetting this experience must have been for him.

"With Mr Rafe’s agreement, we are sharing his experience with the teams involved so that we can learn from it.

"We are also developing a detailed action plan to review and, wherever necessary, strengthen every aspect of care in which we fell short.

"While our emergency departments have been under significant pressure during the recent heatwaves, including while Mr Rafe was with us, everyone has the right to expect compassionate and timely care, which didn’t happen on this occasion.

"We remain committed to supporting Mr Rafe and his partner going forward in every way we can so that he is assured if he needs to be admitted again."