Windrush Londoner denied NHS cancer treatment still has no idea if he will get radiotherapy despite Theresa May’s promise
ONE of the people at the heart of the Windrush scandal is still waiting to find out if he is to get radiotherapy even though Theresa May announced he would receive "the treatment he needs".
Albert Thompson said he is increasingly distressed by the hold-up to his cancer treatment and upset he has not had an apology from London's Royal Marsden hospital over the delay.
Mr Thompson - not his real name - received a brief call from a consultant telling him he would be getting an appointment letter in "two or three weeks’ time.”
He was also called in for some blood tests, however he says there was no mention of his much-needed radiotherapy.
“He didn’t mention anything about radiotherapy,” Mr Thompson
He is now concerned that despite the TV pledge from the PM, the hospital seems in no hurry to reschedule the sessions, which were due to start last November.
That was before he was told that he was not eligible for free treatment without proof that he was living in the UK legally.
The 63-year-old moved to London as a teenager 44 years ago to join his mother, who was here working as a nurse.
Despite tax and national insurance records going back decades, he is still struggling to prove to the authorities that he has the right to live here.
Thompson’s lawyer Jeremy Bloom described his client’s treatment as “grossly unfair”.
“Albert has still not received any clear communication, either verbally or in writing, that sets out exactly what treatment he can expect to receive and when," he said.
"His clinicians first discussed the possibility of radiotherapy treatment with Albert in November 2016. He was told that it would start in November 2017.
"Nothing that the hospital have said since the PM’s announcement has clarified whether or when he will be receiving the radiotherapy treatment that he requires."
Mr Thompson added: “The Prime Minister said I would get treatment, so I presume it is true, but I won’t believe it until I get the go-ahead for the treatment.”
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His problems are down to Home Office officials destroying the Windrush landing papers in 2010.
He said: “They can’t find any trace of me at all. That’s not my fault – they need to sort that out.”
A spokesperson for the Royal Marsden hospital said: “Mr Thompson’s cancer specialist is arranging for Mr Thompson to come into the clinic for the next stage of his NHS treatment.”