Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
DYING GRAN IN STAND-OFF
Four-hour row with ambulance staff
A terminally- ill Chapelhall gran fulfilled her dying wish to pass away at home – but only after a four-hour standoff with paramedics which her devastated husband described as “humiliating”.
Beloved mum- of- three Carol Mallon was brought home from University Hospital Monklands last week after being treated there for a liver infection for more than a month.
Tragically, the organ failed and when Carol was informed, she told medics she wanted to spend her final days with her loved ones.
However, her family claim the grief over their imminent loss was compounded when ambulance workers refused to carry the frail 62-year-old into the Sherdale Avenue property after discovering the trolley carrying Carol was too wide to fit through the front door.
Distraught husband Jim said the workers wouldn’t take his dying wife inside on a stretcher, with one insisting he wanted to return Carol to hospital instead.
Mr Mallon even threatened to lie in front of the ambulance when four police cars arrived on the scene.
He told the Advertiser: “It was extremely stressful and all because of the callous actions of one paramedic.
“To be honest, I could throttle him for what he put my wife through. He
had absolutely no compassion and was too worried about health and safety for a simple threemetre walk from the front door to the bed we had for Carol in the living room.
“The way he treated my wife and our family was disgusting. It was humiliating.”
As a crowd gathered on the street to witness the commotion, police were called.
Grieving Jim continued: “When they arrived I explained the situation and said if the crew tried to move the ambulance, I was lying in front of it.
“I said they would have to take me to jail because I wasn’t moving otherwise.
“The officers said they had no intention of arresting me and wanted Carol to be where she wanted to be.”
The couple’s son Jay, 34, said: “We were adamant that we were getting mum into the house somehow but we were not aggressive.
“I don’t think paramedics should be in their job if that’s the way they treat people; it’s the worst care I’ve ever seen.
“It was inhumane and my mum was stripped of her dignity.”
After four long hours, Mrs Mallon was finally taken inside when a senior Scottish Ambulance Service employee ordered the crew to carry out her wishes.
Jim went on: “You could see the fear and humiliation in Carol’s eyes. She was so relieved when she got in to the house.
”I can’t thank Monklands Hospital enough for caring for her and the police for their help.”
Sadly, Carol passed away just a few days after returning to the home she shared with her childhood sweetheart.
Before falling ill, Mrs Mallon weighed 22 stone but her illness resulted in her weight plummeting by almost half.
An emotional Jim said: “She was at peace. She had us there beside her at home.
“Carol was a very loving person. If she was able to help someone she would. Nobody had a bad word to say about her.
“She was bright, cheerful and will be terribly missed. We’re destroyed by our loss.”
Responding to the Mallon family’s complaints, the Scottish Ambulance Service said:“The safety of our patients and staff is paramount and we have procedures in place to ensure we can transport patients in a range of circumstances.
“One of our ambulance crews was concerned there were access issues with Mrs Mallon’s property and called for assistance from another crew to carry out a full assessment and ensure she was transferred safely.”