A Blackburn Hospital patient, who refused major and potentially life-saving surgery due to her fear, shared her emotional story on a Channel 4 show.
61-year-old Vanessa featured on 999: The Critical List, a show that follows the lives of Royal Blackburn Hospital staff and patients as they juggle urgent life-or-death cases.
In the most recent episode Vanessa, whose last name has not been revealed by the Channel 4 team, suffered from an incarcerated hernia, when part of the intestine or abdominal tissue becomes trapped in the sac of a hernia. The condition is potentially life-threatening and can cause part of the bowel to die.
Despite the risk, Vanessa initially made the decision to decline surgery, even if this meant that she could die without it or lose part of her bowel as she was afraid of major surgery.
On the show she said: “I am thinking all sorts. It’s hard because I know my health isn’t good. If I go through with surgery, I could be in intensive care for months. If I don’t go through with it I will die anyway – what’s the point in putting myself through all that? It’s a big decision to make.”
Later in the show, she speaks to her husband and confirms she will not be going through with the operation.
She said: “I am not going down for an operation. I could die on the table anyway. I could come through, but be in intensive care for months. You can keep me comfortable with pain relief.”
“So you wanna die?,” her partner asks.
She said: “I am not bothered. At the end of the day it’s my decision and it’s one of the hardest decisions I am ever going to have to make but I am doing what I think is right.
“If I went down for the operation I don’t think I’d pull through, with all my medical problems.
“My family wants me to have this done. My son said if I don’t have it done, he won’t speak to me. It’s my choice at the end of the day, would you want to keep going through pain? Because I don’t.”
Later in the show Nick Heywood, consultant surgeon, suggests a less invasive procedure that does not require Vanessa to be put under general aesthetic, which she accepts.
After the procedure, Vanessa said: “Everyone has been so good because they knew how scared I was. It has given me the will to live now, there is light at the end of the tunnel now.”
Nick had been in charge of managing the critical list on the episode. He said staff are “at breaking point” at times.
He said: “When you look at workload we have as an emergency consultant you can see that it is just unmanageable.
“You’d say we were at breaking point. Sometimes it feels like the system is broken. We are trying to fix it while trying to continue working. It’s a day-on- day challenge.”
The first episode featured a drug-user who had needles stuck in his neck and patients with a suspected burst colon, a dental abscess, and an 11-year-old boy is only hours away from potentially losing a testicle.
Emma Cooke, former deputy communications director of East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, said when the programme launched: "Viewers will follow patients and their families as they await an available slot on the list.
“Highlighted cases illustrate the operational dynamics of the list, particularly when higher-priority cases necessitate adjustments, showcasing the complex logistics involved in ensuring patients receive the best care.
“The series aims to emotionally engage audiences by exploring broader themes of social care and the health challenges facing the UK today.
“Highlighted cases illustrate the operational dynamics of the list, particularly when higher-priority cases necessitate adjustments, showcasing the complex logistics involved in ensuring patients receive the best care.
“The series aims to emotionally engage audiences by exploring broader themes of social care and the health challenges facing the UK today.”
You can watch 999: The Critical List on Channel 4 On Demand.
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