Retired nurse 'let down' as she's trapped in 14th floor flat with no care fighting for her life

Helen Storrie, 71, from Scotland, says she has been left to rot in her 14th storey flat as she struggles with cancer. Despite having little to no mobility, she says she is yet to receive a care plan

A retired nurse who is suffering from cancer shared that she has been abandoned by the NHS and has been "let down all the way" by her former employer.

Helen Storrie, 71, from Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, says she was left to fend for herself and didn't receive chemotherapy for months. The great gran, who has been struggling to cope with the disease spreading to her brain, says that her chemotherapy was delayed and that she had been given no care plan.

On one ocassion, her condition had become so severe that her eye "looked as if it was going to come out the socket and her face was distorted." Helen says she is aware that she is “living on borrowed time”, but hasn't received help to make her last moments comfortable.

From the decision to treat cancer to the commencement date, the time frame should be no more than 31 days. However, she was left in limbo for five months until she began treatment for stage four cancer in May 2023. Helen, who was a nurse for 40 years, believes her cancer worsened because of the constant cancellations of her appointments.

She said: “I had 25 letters in the five months I waited, cancelling appointments or changing them. These delays cannot have helped my chances.” While Helen kept reasonably well for about a year after the treatment began, the cancer has now spread with a vengeance and she has been told more chemotherapy would be futile.

From being reasonably active Helen can barely do more than shuffle around her fourteenth-storey flat, clutching the walls and doors for support, as she takes the short few steps from her bedroom to living room or bathroom. From a spot of cancer in her lung, it has metastasised to her bladder and now she has inoperable lesions on her brain.

She said: “The consultant came to see me and said a possible option was to put me on chemotherapy and radiotherapy but she said it woud be a complete waste of resources and that they would rather spend the money on someone who could improve with the treatment."

On August 11, Helen called her son Darran Murray, 47, in the early hours of the morning saying she was not feeling too well, reports Daily Record. He said: “I could see a change in her within 10 minutes of being there. Her left eye looked as if it was going to come out the socket and her face was distorted as if she was having a seizure.”

She had a seizure while waiting on the ambulance and a further two as it sped her to Wishaw General followed by a third on arrival at the hospital. But just two days later the hospital tried to discharge her even though she had a urinary tract infection, was extremely frail and had no care package at home."

Darran called the GP surgery and district nurses were sent out and are now managing her pain. Helen commented: “I have been let down all the way since my cancer was diagnosed. That’s the NHS’ thanks for all my years of service as a nurse.”

Karen Workman, Adult Social Work senior manager, University Health & Social Care North Lanarkshire, said: “When Ms Storrie was discharged from hospital, she was assessed by our Home Assessment Team and occupational therapy which resulted in appropriate support equipment being provided.

“She was also assessed by the team’s physiotherapist and the Assistive Technology Team to identify any further support she may require. Throughout the assessment period of almost one month, the team working with Ms Storrie were able to observe her day-to-day abilities and further support was not deemed as required.

“Ms Storrie and her family were provided with the Social Work access number. I’d urge her to contact us if her circumstances have changed so we can reassess her care needs.”