Southwick pensioner unable to afford vital £30,000 bowel operation: ‘I don’t know who to turn to’

Margaret Forward, 72, suffers from intestinal dysmotility, a bowel condition that makes it extremely difficult to go to the toilet.

An implant in her left buttock sends a signal to her brain to empty her bowels, but a few months ago it stopped working.

Now Margaret has been told she cannot get it replaced on the NHS, leaving her facing a £30,000 bill and intense physical discomfort.

“Life is pretty awful, I don’t know who to turn to,” said Margaret, who lives in Meadway Court in Southwick.

“I’m in terrible pain, I look pregnant, my energy’s depleted, I can’t eat properly. I don’t know how long I can go on.”

Without the implant Margaret has to pump water into her rectum to empty her bowel, which has left her backed up and unable to digest food properly.

Her long-standing condition started after a stroke in 2001.

In 2012 she paid £25,000 for the implant after being unable to claim it on the NHS as doctors said it was ‘unlikely’ to ease her condition.

Margaret happened to have the money in 2012 after her husband passed away and, after an operation at St Thomas’ hospital in London, found it eased her condition significantly.

This time she said there was ‘no way’ she could afford to pay for it herself, particularly as the cost has now risen to around £30,000.

Her GP emailed the NHS clinical commissioning group (CCG), which replied saying the treatment was ‘not in their remit’.

“If it’s not their remit, whose remit is it?” Margaret said. “I’m living in hope that some kind person can help me because I am in dire straits.”

Margaret also suffers from chronic fatigue syndrome, also known as ME, and requires a full-time carer.

Alongside the debilitating physical effects, she said her condition was also having a ‘devastating’ impact on her mental health.

The clinical commissioning groups for Sussex were contacted by the Herald but did not provide a response before the newspapers went to print.