Elderly man who nearly a lost finger during COVID-19 praises the Sheffield Hand Centre ahead of 10 Year Anniversary
Leonard Hall, 70, has thanked the Sheffield Hand Centre for the excellent care he received in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic after sawing through his finger with an electric saw.
Len initially visited Doncaster Hospital who referred him to the specialist hand clinic in Sheffield, where he underwent a two hour operation to save his finger.
He said, “I was cutting wood at my bowling green and thought that using an electric saw would be a good idea at the time.”
“At first I thought I was going to lose my finger. The consultant at the centre said that I’d cut through a tendon and two nerves and would need to go in for surgery, but reassured me that they wouldn’t have to take the finger off! Everyone was so professional and really put my mind at ease.”
After being admitted to the centre on Friday, Len was scheduled for surgery the following Monday and praised the staff at the centre for how quickly everything was planned.
“The surgeon who was doing the operation came to see me beforehand so I knew exactly what was happening and the staff sat with me whilst I was waiting so I always felt calm and reassured. The nurses also brought me a cup of tea and toast after the operation.”
Speaking about visiting the centre during the COVID-19 pandemic, he said, “It’s a worrying time for everyone at the moment and I was definitely a bit apprehensive to be visiting a hospital, but I felt very reassured the whole time and made sure that I kept myself shielded following the operation. I thought, what I don’t want to do now is get COVID.”
Len is still recovering from the operation and is due to have his splint off within the next few weeks once the wound has healed completely.
The Sheffield Hand centre, which will be celebrating its 10 year Anniversary on 1st November 2020, was the third fully integrated hand centre in the country, combining both orthopaedic and plastic surgery into a centralised unit.
Since opening, the team working at the centre have treated over 147,500 patients and seen an average of 13,000 patient attendances each year. The Hand Centre remains an extremely busy unit, with almost 20% of Emergency Department attendances admitted with a hand injury. This figure has continued to remain high throughout the COVID-19 period due to an increase in DIY and home improvement hand injuries and the centre has continued to provide this specialist care throughout.
Go back
