‘Wayne deserved so much better’ - family call for answers after man’s death after weight loss surgery

Wayne Clark died a month after bariatric surgery at Sunderland Royal Hospital, following complications which saw him admitted to intensive care. He underwent numerous rounds of surgery following a leak from his stomach, but sadly continued to decline. He died on January 7.

“Ray of sunshine” Wayne - who was over 6ft tall with a BMI of over 60 - took two years to decide to go ahead with the gastric bypass operation, which he hoped would improve his health, having been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and his mobility. He had tried many other NHS-guided options, including weight loss medication and various diet plans.

Wayne, from Seaham, was a beloved son of Sam and Billy, brother to Mel and uncle to nine-year-old Maggie, and worked as an HGV driver. Wayne, a keen golfer, was also a lifeline to his parents, who relied on him for support with day-to-day tasks. His family say they have been left “absolutely in bits” by his death.

Wayne told his family he thought there was a small leak very shortly after his surgery took place, on December 3, 2025, but nothing was done. Six days after his surgery, he was re-admitted to hospital after suffering excruciating pain. Despite several rounds of surgery, Wayne continued to deteriorate in the intensive care unit at Sunderland Royal Hospital, where his family say they are haunted by his experience.

Now, they are calling for answers around his death and have submitted a 26-point complaint to Sunderland Royal Hospital raising concerns around the care he received following his initial bariatric surgery. This included claims the nursing team were dismissive of Wayne and his pleas for help, and staff use of personal phones, which Sunderland Royal Hospital said has led to a review of phone use in ICU.

Wayne’s sister Mel and brother-in-law Stu both work in care, and say their experience of Wayne’s care is “a million miles away” from the standards they deliver to people who depend on them.

“I don’t know how we will get over this as a family. My mam and dad are fading away, and our daughter absolutely adored her Uncle Wayne, she is only nine and it has been so hard to explain this to her. The fact Wayne suffered so much is something that I’ll never forget, and we do want accountability for that,” says Mel, who lived near to her brother in Seaham.

“While he was in hospital, there were so many really upsetting incidents, and it’s so hard to live with knowing Wayne was treated so poorly. He wasn’t taken seriously, he told me he was scared and he thought he was dying, but they’d just brush it off. There were times his machines were flashing and we’d get help and they’d tell us everything was normal. My mam would say there was something wrong, she knows her son better than anyone, but they wouldn’t listen. We even saw the water by his bedside was discoloured – I can’t really describe how bad his experience was in there.

“There was one absolutely awful instance where they accused him of recording them on his phone, Wayne was devastated with how they spoke to him and treated him about this. We opened his phone and showed them there was absolutely nothing there – but while they said they were concerned for GDPR purposes, Wayne was in his own room, so surely they would only have been discussing Wayne’s care? It was a very distressing situation when Wayne was declining really quickly, and raised a lot of questions.”

Stu continues: “The lack of any compassion or empathy was unbelievable really. The way they spoke to Wayne, even from what we saw ourselves, was unacceptable. Me and Mel both work in care and we were shocked at what we saw. You’d get staff sitting outside of patients’ rooms in ICU, playing on their phones – these are desperately ill people who deserve a lot better. Visitors aren’t even allowed their phones when they come into the unit.

“Having read through Wayne’s medical records, there was an instance where Wayne was supposedly rude to them, after being left on his own for at least half an hour in his own faeces. This is a young man who was in pain, desperate because he couldn’t do anything for himself and who was declining fast – and all they can say is that he shouldn’t have spoken to them as he did? I can’t see many people being calm and collected about such a demeaning situation. He deserved to be treated with kindness and dignity, and what he received was far from that.

“I would also say that just because you have a job title as a medical professional, that does not automatically mean you know better than a person’s family. The family know their loved one best and they deserve to be listened to, not just brushed aside. You can’t overrule the genuine concerns of people’s families just because you think you know better because you’re wearing a uniform.”

Mel is also devastated that the hospital did not alert her family quickly enough when Wayne was close to death. Although the on-call doctor had been summoned during the night, it was only when Wayne’s family called ICU at 8am the following morning, as they routinely did, that the nursing team said they should come in urgently.

“We were robbed of precious hours with Wayne. They knew during the night he had got so much worse, and when your son or brother is in intensive care, you don’t sleep properly anyway with the trauma and worry – we would’ve been there instantly if we had known anything had changed,” says Mel.

“One of Wayne’s best friends, who recently got married and Wayne was supposed to be his best man, almost missed out on the chance to say goodbye because we had so little time. Could they not have picked the phone up to us?”

Wayne’s family are being supported in their fight for answers and accountability from Sunderland Royal Hospital by clinical negligence specialists at law firm Slater and Gordon.

“Wayne hoped this surgery would be life-enhancing and transformative, but the tragedy that ensued has rightly caused his family to ask questions about what went wrong,” says Rebecca Hall, who is acting for the Clark family.

“Too often, we hear of families who are not listened to and feel dismissed by medics, and that is absolutely unacceptable. The way Wayne was treated only compounds his family’s devastation. They deserve answers and accountability over what happened to their beloved Wayne, and we will do all we can to ensure they are given that.”