‘I was forced to wait eight months’ for life saving heart surgery - my surgeon said ‘we failed you’

When doctors finally saw Dorothea Went, eight months after she’d been referred for an urgent heart operation they were “dumbfounded” at how long she’d been left to deteriorate.

Ms Went, a retired primary school teacher and mother of three from Chelmsford, had a long family history of heart problems.

In early 2020 she started to experience some breathing problems but struggled to get an appointment with her GP, until 2023 when he health had become so bad she couldn’t finish a sentence without “gasping for breath.”

She was forced to go to A&E because of her symptoms but still had to push hard for a doctor’s appointment.

After seeing a specialist she was finally told in October 2023, she needed to be treated for critical aortic stenosis – where blood flow through the heart is restricted. Doctors said that she needed urgent heart surgery.

Ms Went described the relief at having finally been given a diagnosis and believing she would swiftly receive the treatment she desperately needed.

However, her relief was short-lived as months and weeks went on with no news about her operation. Doctors told her in January if she did not have the surgery soon she would be dead by the summer but still, she heard nothing.

“I was assured I’d be operated on in January...But on my birthday, I was informed that due to excess delays and a backlog of cardiac cases, my operation will now not take place until the end of March at the earliest,” she said.

Chasing for updates she was told that emergency operations were taking precendent over her operation, despite the urgency.

“It’s like being in the queue and there’s always somebody who steps in front of you and pushes you back.”

During her wait, her health deteriorated to the point where daily tasks were difficult to complete.

“By the end, I struggled with absolutely everything,” she said.

“With my breathing at night, walking more than 20 steps, going up and down stairs, even getting around the supermarket. I couldn’t play games with my grandson anymore.”

Dorothea’s next contact from the NHS was when she received a letter giving her a “post-operative” appointment in May - before she had even received a date for her surgery.

She attended the hospital and her sonographer was “dumbfounded” at the state she’d been left in. The sonographer assumed she had received her surgery and was shocked at the fact she hadn’t, Ms West said.

The surgeon was called and admitted, “We’ve failed you; we shouldn’t have left you this long”, she added.

Ms West’s condition had become so bad the surgeon admitted her to hospital that day and arranged for the surgery to take place.

“If the surgery had been done within weeks, it could have made a lot of difference. I don’t think I’ll ever be quite right again. I think that’s why I can’t walk that fast anymore, I’m still struggling.”

Dorothea Went has been supported by the charity the British Heart Foundation. Her story comes as The Independent reveals the “crisis in heart care” facing the NHS.

Christine Blanshard, Chief Medical Officer at Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are sorry Mrs Went had to wait longer than expected for her surgery. We support patients on the waiting list with information and advice on how to stay well while waiting, and provide information on what to do if they feel their condition is getting worse.”