A man from Raglan has claimed he is ‘lucky to be alive’ after he believes his local health board has ‘mismanaged’ his care for years. 

Paul Phillips, who now lives in Raglan near Usk, says he has been having an ongoing fight with the NHS for more than 10 years over what he believes is a misdiagnosis of his conditions.

Mr Phillips claims that doctors at numerous different local surgeries and hospitals, all managed by Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, missed the chance to diagnose him with leukaemia in 2010 after a blood anomaly was found during a routine scan.

He said: “I am in a position where I could die any moment, and that is because I haven’t been treated properly. I’m lucky to be alive if I’m honest.”

Having already been under medical supervision after suffering dozens of broken bones and depression following a car accident in 2008, Mr Phillips was referred to oncology in 2010, the year in which the hospital management was changed and handed over to the health board.

Mr Phillips said: “Up until 2010, the care I was getting from the NHS was good. Then when the management changed, my life just imploded.

“My finances, my health, my mental state all went completely downhill after that.”

Mr Phillips claims he was referred to oncology after pushing for answers, which he says were being “ignored” by his local GPs.

“I was in crippling pain, exhausted and yet sleeping at least 18 hours a day, so I knew something wasn’t right, but I was given the wrong medication when I was pretty sure I had leukaemia, and I kept being told that wasn’t the case.”

He was eventually diagnosed with Essential thrombocythemia (ET) in 2012, which is a rare blood cancer that causes a high number of blood cells called platelets to form, the cells involved in clotting.

In 2012, he developed kidney problems, and he saw his GP, having already changed surgeries, where he was put on a 16-week NHS waiting list.

He said: “I took out private healthcare at that point because I knew I couldn’t wait that long, and even with that, it took months to see a specialist.

“I had a number of scans done privately, and despite the scans showing some sort of mass, I kept being told they weren’t there.

“Being told stuff like that does play with your head a bit. My PTSD and mental health just kept getting worse because I knew I was ill but couldn’t get any answers.”

He was eventually diagnosed with leukaemia in 2021, which is a cancer of the white blood cells, which begin in the bone marrow.

However, he believes that years of the wrong medication and mismanagement of his care have left him at the point of no return.

Feeling he wasn’t being listened to, Mr Phillips turned to private healthcare, where he has been seen since June 2023, after he alleges his interactions with NHS professionals had left him labelled an “abusive patient”, which he claims is “ridiculous”: “I just wanted answers.”

He says he has also experienced strokes, liver lesions, anger management and numerous tumours, and is currently awaiting referrals for four different specialisms, leaving him unable to work.

He said: “I feel that the mismanagement of my care has left me at death’s door. I’m constantly aware that I could die at any moment, and I want to try and make sure no one else is faced with this.”

Aneurin Bevan University Health Board said they could not comment on Mr Phillips’s particular case, but they were open to engaging with his concerns.

A spokesperson said: “We’re sorry that Mr Phillips is unhappy with the care he has received.

“We cannot discuss an individual’s care but can confirm that we have liaised with Mr Phillips via our Putting Things Right process and would encourage him to contact us if he has any further concerns.”