A YOUNG woman who waited five years for a stomach reduction to treat her obesity has died, according to the patients' ombudsman.
Amaresh Fernández Rodríguez, 24, weighed 19st 9lb (125 kilos) and her condition meant she also suffered from diabetes, fibromyalgia, depression and anxiety – the latter two aggravated by having to wait so long for necessary surgery at Asturias Central University Hospital (HUCA).
“We need to be cautious and wait for the results of the post-mortem, but it is clear Amaresh died waiting for her operation,” says a press release from the ombudsman.
Amaresh had contacted them in 2015, by which time she had already waited nearly four years, despite ongoing complaints to the hospital.
“They did not take into account that her situation was urgent and life-threatening,” said solicitor Eduardo Curiel, who works for the ombudsman.
“The hospital just kept putting obstacles in her way.”
According to Curiel, the regional health authorities told Amaresh in 2015 that she would be operated on within the year – before August 2016 – but once this date had passed and she made enquiries, Amaresh was told she would have another four-year wait.
The patient was informed she would not get her surgery until the year 2020.
She then sank into a deep depression, knowing she would never be able to afford to pay for the treatment privately.
Her lawyer filed a claim with the prosecution service after the regional health authority's own complaints procedure led to a dead end.
Curiel has since tried to contact the prosecutor again following Amaresh's death, but has not received a response.
The ombudsman plans to chase up the prosecution as soon as the autopsy results are announced, but has already filed a complaint with the regional health ministry and is calling for its leader, Francisco del Busto, to be sacked.
“Amaresh was just 24 years old, and wanted to lead a normal life,” laments Curiel.
“She fought right to the end to be able to do so.”
The patient's initial letter to the ombudsman has since been made public.
In it, she wrote: “This is intolerable to me.
“I'm getting worse and worse, physically and psychologically. I'm desperate.
“There's an infinite number of things I can't even think about doing because of the obesity I'm suffering from, and the complications that keep arising from it.
“I just want them to operate on me – I couldn't care less where they do it.”
Amaresh was not bothered whether it was the HUCA, in Oviedo, where she had her surgery, and was willing to travel out of her catchment area if necessary.
She died at her home in Pravia, Asturias, on New Year's Day, says the ombudsman.
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