David Burchall, picture courtesy of Humans of Leeds
An amputee is taking action against two Leeds hospitals after they neglected to give him an MRI scan which he claimed led to him losing his leg.
41 year old David Burchall first went to his GP in Leeds in February last year complaining he had numb toes and no pulse in his foot.
Despite several appointments with different vascular surgeons who claimed his pain was due to smoking, just months later Leeds General Infirmary removed his leg.
He believes the amputation could have been prevented if he’d have had his leg scanned sooner.
David has since been diagnosed with Antiphospholipid syndrome, which is a hereditary disorder of the immune system that causes an increased risk of blood clots.
Mr Burchall, from Bermuda, is now claiming against the LGI and St James’ Hospital for medical negligence.
He said: “I knew something was wrong even though I kept getting sent away.
“I even started to take aspirin to try and thin my blood”.
A spokesman for Leeds Teaching Hospitals said: “The Trust was recently contacted by a representative seeking access to medical records relating to Mr Burchall. Naturally we will be co-operating with this request, but there is nothing further we can add at this stage.”
Despite losing his left leg Mr Burchall has set a new goal in life to become a Paralympic runner and says he is going to start training with his brother as soon as he regains fitness.
Mr Burchall was transferred to Leeds General Infirmary in March last year where he was seen by a vascular surgeon who told him “the problem was probably caused from smoking and that they couldn’t do anything for him”.
Three months later after going back to his GP with foot ulcers Mr Burchall was referred back to the LGI where he saw another vascular surgeon who this time told him “that it was probably something to do with his blood vessels and it would go away”.
Mr Burchall, who is a first-aider and Step-up Line Leader at International Procurement and Logistics Ltd came home from work to find he couldn’t walk on his foot the next day and eventually called an ambulance on November 20.
He was taken to St James’ Hospital where they took blood tests and finally discharged him with a “sprained leg”.
It wasn’t until on December 12, nearly a year on from his first GP visit that Mr Burchall was finally admitted in to hospital where and MRI scan confirmed he had a blood clot in his leg.
After trying to save his leg with bypass surgery, the LGI consultant suggested Mr Burchall have his leg amputated.
After being dispatched from hospital Mr Burchall could no longer return home due to mobility issues and as a consequence had to stay St George’s Crypt in Leeds city centre.
He said :“I’ve now found a new ground floor flat nearer to work, where I will be moving to in a couple of weeks”.
Mr Burchall has been fitted with a prosthetic leg and is attending physiotherapy twice a week.
Here he talks about his plans for the future and the impact losing a limb has had on his life.