One man has said he has been left waiting years for an appointment with a Guy’s and St Thomas’ dentist – so long that all his teeth fell out.
Bermondsey man John Ryan, who is terminally ill with a degenerative condition in his spine., said his 2020 dentistry appointment was axed because he had an infection, and several others were then cancelled because of the pandemic. “I’ve lost all the teeth in my head,” he said.
Mr Ryan also suffers from severe chronic pain and has also been waiting weeks for an injection that might help. “This man don’t sleep, he’s an ill man,” his wife Mary said.
Mr Ryan, 58, suffers from a litany of other severe health problems, including an enlarged heart, diabetes and kidney problems. He was also in a coma for three months in 2018 because of double pneumonia.
A spokesperson for Guy’s said Mr. Ryan had cancelled his appointment – he has denied this was the case.
Responding to our original article (click below) on the waiting list, a spokesperson for Guy’s and St Thomas’ said: “We are absolutely committed to reducing the time patients wait for diagnosis and treatment, with a particular focus on patients who have been waiting the longest. We understand how difficult it is for patients and their families who are waiting for care.
“We have introduced many initiatives across the Trust to support them, including our successful High Intensity Theatre (HIT) lists which allow us to treat more patients in a single session.”