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Aaron Sutton is desperate for a diagnosis as chest and stomach pain has stopped him from working and struggling to care for his five-year-old son. The 30-year-old man has been told by doctors that his symptoms are caused by anxiety but Aaron believes NHS doctors are not listening to his concerns.
The dad, who has type 1 diabetes, has been to Royal Stoke University Hospital 13 times since mid November but each time was sent home. He has now put in a complaint with the patient advice and liaison services (PALS).
Speaking to Stoke-on-Trent Live, Aaron said: “I don’t suffer with anxiety. I’ve never been anxious about anything in my life.
“When they said anxiety that made me feel 10 times worse, I feel like no one is listening to me. Just playing the anxious card.
“I’ve started crying up there because I’m mentally drained, getting no help, no support.
“I’m not the sort of person to ring an ambulance or go to A&E that many times for no reason. Normally I’m fine if I’m ill, I’ll just stay at home and deal with it, but I don’t feel right.
“I need to be on a ward. I don’t feel well, I know my own body, I wouldn’t keep going there for the sake of it.
“I feel like something is going to happen to me.”
Aaron has been unable to work in his role as Amazon delivery driver since the symptoms began. His battle has impacted him financially and emotionally.
“It’s concerning and it’s affecting my five-year-old because he is worried about me,” the father of one, from Blurton, Stoke-on-Trent, said.
“It’s affecting his mental health because he’s been crying, worrying about daddy.
“I’m struggling with money. My mum and nan have had to financially support me and I’ve had to sign on ESA (Employment and Support Allowance) because I’m not well enough to go back to work.
“It’s really impacting my mental health, I feel really down. I said to the doctors that I wanted to do myself in and they were concerned about me then.
“It’s like they are waiting for me to be really ill before they’ll do something about it.
“I’ve put in a complaint to PALS. I know there is lot’s of stuff going on with Covid, but with my experience at the moment, there is a lack of care and understanding. They’re not listening, that’s the big thing, they’re not listening to patients.
“I could be really ill and my five-year-old could end up without a dad.
“There’s something definitely going on with my stomach or my chest and at one point I was coughing up blood.
“I’m desperate for a diagnosis. I’m really struggling with it all.”
Aaron has had blood tests, X-rays and CT scans during his various visits to the hospital, which is in central Stoke.
And Royal Stoke bosses say it is always its aim to “deliver the highest standards of care possible”.
The hospital, which has more than 1,000 beds, stresses it takes all complaints seriously.
Ann-Marie Riley, chief nurse at University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust, said: “We are very sorry to hear of Aaron’s situation. It is always our aim to deliver the highest standards of care possible.
“We do take any complaint or concerns raised by patients or their families very seriously and we would encourage Aaron to let us know and speak to the Patient Advice and Liaison Team who can investigate and provide support.”
