Delays cost me my sight, claims cabbie

DELAYS blame . . . Babar Bashir

AN Oldham taxi driver left partially sighted following a brain tumour, claims his vision could have been saved if doctors had diagnosed him sooner.

Babar Bashir (43), of Elgin Road, Roundthorn, was sent home from the Royal Oldham Hospital twice, on January 15 and 17, after doctors said his headaches, vomiting and nosebleeds were migraines.

On a third visit, on January 19, a scan revealed a tumour on his pituitary gland, which is situated on the base of the brain below the optic nerve.

The tumour was removed but Mr Bashir has now lost 75 per cent of his vision.

The father-of-five, who worked as a cab driver in Manchester, is now virtually housebound, according to his cousin Mansha Hussain (32), from Moorhey Street.

Mr Hussain said: “He’d been complaining of headaches to his GP for the past three years but finally went to the hospital on January 15 complaining of headaches and vomiting.

“He was told it was a migraine and sent home with Panadol and antibiotics.

“He returned to the Accident and Emergency department on January 17 with severe nosebleeds, but was told he wasn’t a priority and given two injections, one to stop the bleeding and one to stop the headaches.

“It was only when he returned on January 19 that he was admitted to the Medical Assessment Unit and a scan sent to Hope Hospital in Salford revealed the brain tumour.”

The tumour was successfully removed but Mr Bashir lost 75 per cent of his vision.

Mr Hussain, who said the family will be formally complaining to the Pennine Acute Trust, which runs the hospital, said: “He was never told by hospital staff that he could lose his eyesight.

“Babar believes had he been treated earlier, he wouldn’t have lost his eyesight. If he’d been diagnosed on his first visit, if he had been given due care and attention, he wouldn’t have lost his eyesight.

Mr Hussain added: “He was an outgoing man, really active, who was supporting his five daughters by working as a taxi driver in Manchester. Now he is just lying in his bed. “It all happened so quickly, he is very upset by what has happened and his family is devastated.”


WHAT THE PENNINE TRUST SAID
A spokesman for The Pennine Acute Trust said: “A senior consultant has reviewed Mr Bashir’s case notes and we are confident that he received the appropriate treatment for the conditions he presented with.

“If Mr Bashir has any concerns, he can contact the Trust’s patient advice and liaison service.”