East Preston man suffers mobility issues after brain tumour operation

Tony Mardell says he waited for more than a year for an operation to remove a benign brain tumour after first being diagnosed. The former kitchen appliance business owner said he was initially told the tumour should cause no symptoms but he was left with permanent mobility problems after a series of surgeries.

Tony, 63, has now said he and his family are trying to survive after being forced to close his kitchen appliance business.

Solicitors for Tony say his case is being investigated as part of a wider probe into claims of negligence in the neurosurgery and general surgery departments of the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton.

Tony Mardell (Image: Slater Gordon)

Tony, from East Preston, said: “I am trapped in my chair every day. My quality of life is so poor that I believe without my family and friends I couldn’t continue with life.

“I’m constantly in pain and have very limited mobility. I used to be a very sociable person, I enjoyed playing tennis and ran a successful business, but now I have virtually no interaction with the outside world.

“Because adaptations haven’t yet been made to our house, I haven’t had a shower in over a year.

Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton (Image: Sussex News and Pictures)

“I feel like a shell of a person and we receive no support. I have worked all my life but now our savings are almost wiped out as we try and survive after what has happened – not just to me, but to my wife and our children, who I know struggle as much as I do.”

Tony was first diagnosed with a benign brain tumour after an MRI scan in 2020 but said he was assured that it was unlikely to affect his life.

But after he began to experience increasingly severe seizures, medics from University Hospital Sussex, the NHS trust which runs the Royal Sussex, decided they needed to operate.

Tony Mardell (Image: Slater Gordon)

Tony claimed it took until May 2021, eight months after his diagnosis, for staff to decide he needed an operation. After initially being scheduled for August the operation was then cancelled three times and only went ahead after he suffered a life-threatening seizure.

Tony’s wife, Sandra, called the situation an “ongoing nightmare”, adding the family felt “forgotten about”.

Tony was left with permanent mobility issues and relies on Sandra and their two children, aged 16 and 21, for support.

The couple were forced to close their business and said their savings are “almost wiped out”.

Solicitors firm Slater and Gordon, representing Tony, said his case was now being investigated as part of Operation Bramber, a wider criminal probe into general surgery and neurosurgery at the Royal Sussex County Hospital.

A Sussex Police spokeswoman said their investigation was ongoing and covered the period between 2015 and 2021.

The probe is "likely to take some time to complete", the force said.

A spokesman for University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust said they were unable to comment on cases in the police investigation but "understand just how difficult this has been for everyone involved, and how difficult it continues to be".

The trust added: "We support the work of Sussex Police, and we are cooperating fully as they progress their enquiries.

"We would always encourage patients and families to talk to us if they are unhappy with the care provided by our teams, so we can understand their concerns and seek to make improvements if we can.”