Kevin Bishenden went to his GP at Parchmore Medical Centre on 97 Parchmore Road with concerns about his right foot.
The GP allegedly dismissed his concerns, and it resulted in the 62-year-old undergoing an emergency operation to have his leg amputated.
Kevin’s wife Nicola Bishenden told the News Shopper: “Kevin went to the nurse because he had red toes on his right foot.
(Image: Nicola Bishenden)
“Both the doctor and the nurse said he was fine, but overtime, his foot became so bad.
“He showed symptoms of gangrene.
“His leg became bloody, and his skin began to fall off and go right up his leg.
“We even asked the two doctors to come out, and then he gets a nasty text saying, ‘Do not phone here again’.”
Nicola said her husband visited Parchmore “over and over again”, but his worsening condition was not taken seriously.
She said: “He kept going to the doctors and nothing.
“They didn’t do anything.”
She added that on July 10, doctors told Kevin he needed to be admitted urgently, or he could die, but he was unable to stay because he had no belongings with him.
By July 23, his condition had deteriorated so badly that a vascular doctor at St George’s Hospital in Tooting told him to come in immediately.
Nicola explained: “I called an ambulance and he’s been in there ever since.”
Kevin underwent emergency surgery the following day and had his leg amputated.
Kevin had been struggling with mobility for some time and is cared for by Nicola.
She said: “We took him everywhere he needed to go.
“He walked in tiny pigeon steps with a stick, but even then, he couldn’t manage on his own,” she said.
“He fell quite a lot.
“One time he fell off the bed and it took him three hours to get from the bedroom into the front room by shuffling along the floor.
“We wanted to call an ambulance, but he refused because he didn’t want to go back into hospital.”
Nicola said Kevin is now focused on rehabilitation at St George’s.
She explained: “He’s in hospital at the moment doing rehab with the physiotherapists.
“They’re teaching him how to get from the bed into a wheelchair and back again.
“He’s doing well with that, but he will need to be transferred to Croydon for longer-term rehab.”
Nicola said she tried to report the issues to Parchmore Medical Centre but felt the practice was unsupportive.
She said: “I emailed them and reported it, but when a supervisor called a few weeks later, she was on their side, not Kevin’s.
“I asked if the doctor or nurses would apologise to Kevin for everything that happened.
“She said no.
“I asked what if he had died, and she replied that it would have been different.”
She added that Kevin spent four days in a coma after the emergency surgery, and doctors continued to monitor him closely.
“It was critical, but he is doing quite well now,” Nicola said.
Parchmore Medical Centre confirmed with Your Local Guardian that they had been in touch with the couple about their complaint.
A spokesperson for the GP said: “We are very sorry to hear about Mr Bishenden’s situation, and we wish him well in his recovery.
“We have reviewed his care in detail and are confident all clinically appropriate steps were taken in his best interest.
“We have written to his family to explain the care provided and the advice given, and we have offered to meet with them to discuss any aspects of his care.”
