Wes Streeting exposed the pain of being treated for cancer alone and urged all hospitals to end the “zip code lottery” that banned family members from visiting patients.
The shadow health secretary said she was “the loneliest I’ve ever felt in my entire life” and put pressure on her husband and parents who were barred from seeing her due to Covid restrictions.
The Ilford North MP was hospitalized in March 2021 for pain from a kidney stone before a scan revealed a malignant tumor in the kidney itself.
No visitors: Wes Streeting is being treated for kidney cancer at the hospital. The Ilford North MP was hospitalized in March 2021 for pain from a kidney stone before a scan revealed a malignant tumor in the kidney itself.
Two months later, the 38-year-old went to the hospital in London for a one-day biopsy, followed by three days of cancer treatment.
He was always alone due to the strict restrictions on the epidemic.
Mr. Streeting, who has no cure for cancer, said: “I have never felt so alone in my life. Being alone was a truly horrible experience.
‘It doesn’t matter if the NHS staff are brilliant and very supportive.
“There is no substitute for being around family and loved ones. In a way, it was even worse for my family”.
His partner, Joe, was unable to reach him in the hours following the surgery.
Mr. Streeting said: “My excellent surgeon immediately called my partner to reassure him of the success of the surgery and that I could talk to him.
Mr Streeting (pictured in 2021), a cancer survivor after treatment, said: “I have never felt so alone in my life. Being alone was a truly horrible experience’
“But I was placed in a different department than they expected and couldn’t get my cell phone back for hours, so Joe spent hours on the phone being redirected to different departments.
“Even though I was absolutely fine, Joe didn’t know, so it was a very uncomfortable experience for him.”
Last month, The Mail on Sunday launched its campaign to end the trauma of lone patients after it was revealed that nine NHS trusts still impose total bans on visitors for some patients and that almost half of the trusts show NHS England guidelines on minimum visitation requirements. .
Mr. Streeting said: “I hope hospitals do their best so that relatives can visit.
“It’s good for the patient, good for families, and helps reduce the anxiety, stress, and trauma people face.”
He said family members could ease the burden on nurses on wards by bringing water for bedridden patients or helping patients use the toilet, and expressed concern that hospitals everywhere are in the UK’s “at this stage of the epidemic”.
Last month, The Mail on Sunday launched its campaign to end the trauma of lone patients after it was revealed that nine NHS agencies are still implementing visitor bans for some patients (archive photo used)
“I hope they get the support they need from the government to continually re-establish family visits across the country, so we don’t see this zip code lottery anymore.”
Mr Streeting urged the government to “play its role in supporting hospitals and ensuring they have full and safe staff”.
He added: “People will realize that in the current climate you can’t have a dozen relatives around a bed.
But for people’s husbands, wives, mothers and fathers, not being able to visit is a real challenge.”
Source: Daily Mail
I am Anne Johnson and I work as an author at the Fashion Vibes. My main area of expertise is beauty related news, but I also have experience in covering other types of stories like entertainment, lifestyle, and health topics. With my years of experience in writing for various publications, I have built strong relationships with many industry insiders. My passion for journalism has enabled me to stay on top of the latest trends and changes in the world of beauty.
