Shooting victim with bullets lodged in spine and pelvis ‘in agony’ amid surgery delay

Tommy Ward says he suffers chronic pain every day after sustaining multiple injuries in the attack.

He is waiting for an L4/L5 Spinal Discectomy, a specialist procedure which would vastly reduce his pain and improve his quality of life.

However, last week he was informed the surgery at Musgrave Hospital will not take place for another 26 months.

Tommy (53) told the ‘Journal’ the pain and stress of his condition has resulted in him suffering a stroke and two heart attacks - the last one just six weeks ago.

He says he cannot work, ‘cannot plan anything’ and has been diagnosed with chronic PTSD and anxiety.

After the shooting - carried out by dissident republicans in April 2009 - he spent six weeks in a coma and six months in hospital. He had part of his intestine removed, lost the sight in his left eye and has no muscle tissue in the lower end of his foot. He says he lives in ‘agony.’ He has been told the surgery will eradicate his pain and he hopes it will allow him to work again.

Tommy explained that it feels like he is ‘carrying 15kilos on each side of his hips.’

“You drag your leg, and there’s a chronic, burning pain. You can’t sit for more than five minutes. It’s agony.”

He is devastated that his much needed surgery, which he has been told is urgent, will not take place for at least 26 months.

“I’m tired. I’m tired of the pain. With this delay, it feels like I don’t exist.”

SDLP Councillor Rory Farrell has been supporting Mr Ward in his bid to obtain surgery and said the current waiting time is ‘unacceptable.’

He called on the Health Minister Robin Swann and Finance Minister Conor Murphy to ‘co-operate and collaborate’ to increase funding and ‘reduce the waiting lists.’

“Tommy came to us a couple of weeks ago. I feel the waiting time is unacceptable. I don’t understand how, on one hand, they can say the surgery is urgent and on the second hand, say it’s going to be two years. In my view, that doesn’t compute. There doesn’t seem to be any sense of urgency at all. I’d refer to the New Decade, New Approach, that was the deal and in that deal it said that anyone waiting over a year for surgery in September 2019, would be seen and treated before March 2021. That’s six months away.

“So, there are clear capacity issues within the Belfast Trust in terms of doing the surgeries, but there is also a funding issue as well. They don’t have enough capacity, they don’t have enough money. The Health Minister and Finance Minister must co-operate and collaborate to bring down the waiting lists. Thomas is living in pain and there are thousands of others living in pain and in need of operations.” In correspondence with Colr. Farrell, the Belfast Trust said Orthopaedic services are currently running at reduced capacity and they are prioritising patients with the most clinical need. They added that those receiving surgery are “those requiring it within four weeks or risking irreversible damage or harm.”

Colr. Farrell said the 26 month wait is a ‘target time and it could be longer than that.’

“That’s 700 mornings of Thomas waking up in chronic pain. It’s not acceptable.”

spokesperson for the Belfast Trust said it is unable to comment on individual cases, adding: “This service was unavoidably impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic so the Trust could concentrate staff and resources into providing essential critical services to the most clinically urgent patients. Waiting times are longer than we wish, however we are working to address this issue.”