A man says he was left for hours in acute pain because a private healthcare company providing NHS community services failed to deliver the syringes he needed to administer medication.

The 55-year-old from Swindon, Wiltshire, who does not want to be named, has chronic pancreatitis following surgery for pancreatic cancer.

He said he became so concerned about running out of equipment on one occasion that he disinfected and reused a syringe.

HCRG Care Group, which provides community health services across Wiltshire and Bath and North East Somerset, said: "We do not discuss individual patients' treatment publicly. Concerns about their care are addressed directly with patients and carers."

Brian Mathew, MP for Melksham and Devizes, is meeting HCRG Care Group regional director Val Scrase on Friday to discuss concerns he said had been raised by more than 100 constituents.

They include HCRG's Single Point of Access system, referral backlogs, recruitment and vacancies, and the company's handling of a cyber attack and data breach originating in February 2025.

The patient who reused the syringe underwent a Whipple procedure in 2015 following pancreatic cancer and precancerous cells and later suffered a perforated bowel.

He administers prescribed medication at home and said community nurses are responsible for supplying equipment including syringes and needles.

Describing one recent occasion, he telephoned after an expected nursing visit and was initially told someone was on their way.

When nobody arrived, he called again but was told staff were unable to reach the relevant team.

By early evening, he said he had given up waiting and told the service not to send anyone.

"I said I would disinfect my used syringe," he said. "I had to put them in boiling water to try to sterilise them."

He said fresh supplies eventually arrived at about 21:30 BST.

The patient contrasted his experience with the service he said he used to receive when his care was provided directly by the NHS, claiming he would previously receive a call back within about 30 minutes.

He said living with severe pain while waiting for medication could be extremely distressing.

"You are just curled up in a ball. You can't take it. It's horrible. You have just got to lie there and wait," he said.

He has also complained about what he says was an inaccurate entry in his medical records in August, stating he had refused insulin.

In a separate case, Heather Moore, from Midsomer Norton, said her partner Hugh Bigger, 88, who has Alzheimer's disease, was left lying on a bathroom floor for almost three hours after a fall.

Moore said he fell on 24 August and became trapped on the floor. Unable to lift him, she called 999 shortly after 14:00 BST and was told help would be arranged.

She said the case was later referred to HCRG and a staff member told her they were struggling to reach the appropriate falls service.

After further calls and a lengthy wait, Ms Moore contacted HCRG's Single Point of Access herself.

She said she was then told the request for staff to attend had been declined and she should call 999 again.

"The fact was this was kicked into the long grass because that team had declined us, but nobody had rung us to tell us they could not do it," she said.

Bigger was eventually helped from the floor at about 17:00 BST with assistance from people connected with his private care provider.

Moore said she was particularly concerned that nobody had assessed why her partner fell.

"He was 88 and lying on the floor for all those hours was not good for him," she said.

HCRG said it would not comment on individual cases.

During the meeting, Mathew hopes to broach a broader range of concerns he says have been brought to his office.

The MP has also raised questions about HCRG's handling of a cyber attack and data breach in February 2025, including how long it took for some patients and families to be notified

HCRG has previously acknowledged problems following the introduction of its Single Point of Access in April and told the BBC that performance had subsequently improved significantly.

A spokesperson said: "The launch of the Single Point of Access in April was not as smooth as it should have been, and we are sorry some patients waited too long to speak to us or hear back.

"We have since recruited more staff, reduced the average time taken to answer calls to around three minutes and introduced priority lines, including for people caring for someone at the end of their life."

In relation to the cyber attack and data breach, it said it had acted immediately to contain and resolve the incident and reported it to law enforcement and the Information Commissioner's Office.

"The ICO has concluded its consideration of the incident and closed the matter without further action," the spokesperson said.

"There is no evidence that the affected information has appeared online or been misused.

"The investigation was complex and has only recently concluded. We contacted everyone identified as affected as soon as we had the facts needed to inform them accurately, and are continuing to provide appropriate support."

In relation to the referrals backlog, it said additional clinical support was brought in and the backlog was cleared by the end of September, with referral processing "now back to normal".

"Patients whose appointments were affected are being contacted with their new appointment details," it said.

"Our performance on 18-week waits across adult and children's services is in line with the national figures published by NHS England."

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