Michael Gwyther, who was left with permanent paralysis in his right arm after falling critically ill and being placed in a coma, says he has had no update on a serious case review into his treatment since May (Image: John Myers)
A man who sought medical attention after feeling unwell and was merely prescribed antibiotics, has now tragically lost the use of his right arm. Michael Gwyther found himself in Morriston Hospital A&E after visiting his GP on December, 4, 2024 due to feeling poorly.
Owing to the nature of his infection, Michael, from Swansea, requested a male GP, but none were available at his local surgery. Consequently, he was referred to another surgery within the network where male doctors were available. However, he alleges that no diabetic tests were conducted and he was simply sent home with antibiotics.
Michael, being a diabetic, usually undergoes diabetic tests during his routine GP visits. “That day, it felt a lot more rushed,” Michael revealed. “They didn’t do any checks that I would normally get for diabetes. He said it was an infection but it wasn’t serious and asked me to come back in a week.”
However, as night fell, Michael’s condition deteriorated and he dialled 111, reports Wales Online.
“They put me straight through to the nurse practitioner, they usually call you back, but this time they put me through,” Michael shared. “We weren’t on the phone long and she said these things are quite serious, we’re going to send you to hospital.”
However, Michael was told there were no ambulances available for at least 10 hours that day, and a taxi was therefore arranged to take him to Morriston Hospital. In March this year, immediate improvements were ordered at Morriston Hospital’s A&E after inspectors found “significant patient safety concerns.” Plans to expand the hospital were also announced for in August this year.
Michael Gwyther fell critically ill and was placed in a coma (Image: John Myers)
“So that [taxi] arrived, but I don’t remember anything from the hospital until about 10, 11 days later,” he said. “At about three o’clock in the morning (December 5), I went into respiratory arrest and they moved me to ICU.”
Once he was in the ICU, Michael says he had about “10 different surgeries” to remove the infections and he was put in an induced coma.
“They brought me out of the coma on December 10 but I was still under heavy sedation for like a week after that,” he explained. “So, I started to come ’round, around December 14 and after that they realised there was something wrong with the arm.”
Nevertheless, he alleges that even after he regained consciousness no one “acknowledged” his arm injury. “It wasn’t until I got to the Tempest ward did I get any physio or any real care,” Michael claims.
Michael emphasises that when he went to the hospital there was nothing wrong with his arm and that he had sought advice about a completely different issue.
“I walked in with my arm perfectly fine and for the doctor’s appointment in the morning I didn’t go about my arm,” he said. “I had no injury to my arm, no illness to my arm, so it was quite a shock when I woke up.
Michael says he’s had no update on a review into his treatment (Image: John Myers)
“I was a bit dazed for a couple of days but when I finally came round, I was broken, because the worst fear anyone can have is losing a limb, isn’t it? I feel hugely let down. I’ve been chasing for answers and just not getting anywhere. That has been really isolating.
“When I was in the ICU, I had a lot of ICU delirium. I was seeing things, I was hearing things and it was really scary. I get nightmares now at night time and I just don’t sleep because it can be quite emotionally difficult sometimes.”
Michael suspects something occurred whilst he was under sedation at the medical facility which resulted in his right arm becoming paralysed.
“During my eight days in sedation, I was either left on my side for too long in ICU or I was left doing surgery too long, they can’t make their mind up which element it was,” he claims.
“But I suffered a brachial plexus injury from compression of the nerves in my right arm and it has permanently paralysed my ability to use my right arm completely.” He further alleges that the hospital failed to notify his relatives when he was admitted, causing “distress.”
Michael’s brother was conscious that he had been feeling poorly as he was the one who accompanied Michael to his GP appointment on December 4. Just before departing for the hospital, Michael dispatched a text message to his brother informing him of his hospital visit.
“He had to phone multiple departments to try and get an answer to where I was and at the time I was actually in surgery when they finally got me and what ward I was on,” Michael explained. “But for most of the first day they were not engaging with him.”
When Michael’s brother enquired why he wasn’t contacted, the hospital told him it was due to outdated records. However, Michael maintains that he has documentation in his notes showing that he provided his brother’s current contact details on December 5.
“They had no reason not to call him but they didn’t, and by not calling them they caused a lot of distress in the family because they didn’t know what was going on or where I was,” he said.
During his hospital stay, Michael contracted multi drug resistance (MDR) and Covid along with other infections, which meant he had to remain in the hospital for nearly two months.
Upon his discharge at the end of January, he was given a letter of candour, which he states is “acknowledging something serious has happened, but not admitting liability. “.
He added: “Since I left the hospital, initially they were helpful but neurology didn’t book an appointment, psychology didn’t book an appointment. There was no aftercare. I was left on my own. Only now, in the last month after kicking up a stink, am I getting anywhere with psychology, neurology, physio.”
Michael got multi-drug resistance and Covid while in hospital (Image: John Myers)
Michael was left waiting from January to April for a single physiotherapy session, with his second appointment scheduled two weeks later, only to then face a further delay until August for additional sessions.
Swansea Bay University Health Board has initiated an inquiry into the matter, and a serious case review was conducted in January 2025.
Despite Michael’s attempts to gain updates on the investigation’s progress, he claims that the last communication he received from them was in May 2025, and alleges that the health board has since ceased responding to his enquiries.
“It would mean a little bit of closure, maybe a little bit of accepting that something went wrong and they’re going to try and make things better so that it doesn’t happen to someone else,” he expressed. “It’s more about the dodging of accountability is part of it for me.”
A spokesperson for Swansea University Health Board responded: “We are very sorry to hear of Mr Gwyther’s concerns regarding his care. As this matter is currently being investigated, we are not able to comment any further at this time. However, we will shortly be responding to Mr Gwyther directly with a full update following the completion of our investigation.”