A STOURPORT man who required urgent medical attention to his eye ended up travelling to London as he says there was no-one available to treat him in the West Midlands.

Neil Jethwa, 43, suffered a detached retina and his eyesight was “getting worse as the day went on”, he said.

When he phoned Worcestershire Primary Care Trust’s out-of-hours service, he claims he was told there were no eye specialists to treat him in North Worcestershire and was advised to visit the Midland Eye Centre in City Hospital, Birmingham.

After he was examined in Birmingham, Mr Jethwa was informed he would have to wait three days to be operated on.

His father, Jimmy, who is a retired GP, insisted his son needed to be treated as soon as possible, so a doctor at City Hospital referred Mr Jethwa to Moorfields Eye Hospital in London.

Dr Jethwa said he thought it was “appalling” that they had to travel to London, adding: “The emergency doesn’t choose its time – it happens any time. There has to be better provision for this type of treatment.”

The problem with Mr Jethwa’s left eye began on Saturday, May 23 – a bank holiday weekend – and his father said he thought medical cover was not organised well enough over holiday periods.

Dr Jethwa went on: “They told me at Moorfields that they are sometimes a dumping ground for patients who have to go there because there is nowhere else.

“I think sometimes doctors and surgeons go on holiday without organising cover.”

Mr Jethwa was taken to London by his wife and father on the Sunday and was operated on there the same day.

A fleet sales manager at a Hereford garage, Mr Jethwa has been unable to go to work since the operation, as he still has no sight in his eye.

It is healing, however, and Mr Jethwa said he was glad the problem was dealt with so quickly in London, as he “knew there was a timeframe involved”.

His father said he believed there “could be other people who have had the same experience” as them. “As a doctor, I knew how serious the problem was,” Dr Jethwa explained.

He added: “When the retina becomes detached it is an emergency because if it’s not treated quickly, fluid builds up behind the retina and it starts to peel like wallpaper. When the fluid build-up reaches the middle of the eye, the optic nerve is affected and the person can become blind.”

Dr Jethwa has complained to NHS Worcestershire and Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, which is responsible for the Midland Eye Centre.

A spokeswoman for the trust said: “We have received a complaint and we are looking into it at the moment.”

A spokeswoman for NHS Worcester-shire said: “We have received correspondence from Dr Jethwa and we are dealing with this through our formal complaints process. We are now looking at the issues raised within this complaint and will respond directly to Dr Jethwa.”