‘SHOCKING’ DELAYS PUT SICK IN DANGER
AN elderly stroke patient died after an ambulance trust took 19 hours to reach them, an NHS whistleblower claims.
Insiders say the 91-year-old patient “didn’t stand a chance” – and the “shocking” case raises new fears over 999 response times.
It is among a series of deaths linked to long delays at the East of England ambulance trust.
Figures showed the trust had the worst response times of England’s ten ambulance regions in the most serious cases last month.
An external review, which looked at 22 incidents, was launched by the trust after a whistleblower claimed long delays had contributed to a number of patient deaths last winter.
But it concluded last month nobody had died as “a direct consequence” of significant ambulance delays. The stroke victim died in hospital four days after being left waiting 18 hours 44 minutes at the height of the winter flu crisis.
One trust insider said: “It’s outrageous. Having to wait 19 hours for an ambulance is shocking. They didn’t stand a chance.”
In another case, leaked to the Health Service Journal, an 88-year-old was left more than nine and a half hours with a fractured neck after a fall. The trust, which serves Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, East Anglia, Essex and Hertfordshire, has faced a series of rows.
The Sunday People has revealed how trust bosses were given luxury 4x4 Jaguars and Toyota Landcruisers. MPS and unions accused the trust of taking taxpayers for a ride as the car leasing costs soared to £825,000 a year.
Official data for May shows the trust recorded the worst average response time for category one calls, at eight minutes 35 seconds. They are meant to arrive in seven minutes or under. The frontline worker added: “That’s an average, so some wait longer. We should be getting better, not worse.”
Lib Dem health spokesman Norman Lamb said: “The delays are hugely concerning. But instead of patient safety, the trust seem more concerned about targeting anyone who leaks information.”
The trust said: “As we have now secured funding for additional resource for the next three years we look forward to continuing to work with partners to improve our service to patients.” THE parents of this little boy are furious after being ordered to listen at night for the sound of a bell to stop him suffocating. Dylan Gray previously had trained carers who adjusted a special tube if it become dislodged from his windpipe. Now those medical workers are to be replaced by community carers, who will be trained only to spot a malfunction. They will then ring a bell to wake up the five-year-old’s parents, Andy and Katie, who will have to refit the tube. The couple claim the move has been done just to save money – which their local NHS trust denies. Andy, 36, said: “Dylan has around ten minutes if the tube is blocked or loose before he dies from a lack of oxygen. This change puts the onus entirely on Katie and me to save his life. The pressure and worry is extraordinary.”
Risk
The charity Breathe On, who support the 10,000 UK children dependent on mechanical breathing and ventilation, say the move is deplorable – and could put thousands of other children at risk if it is replicated at other trusts. Dylan, of Gloucester, was diagnosed with CCHS – congenital central hypoventilation syndrome – shortly after birth. He can attend mainstream school but episodes of apnoea, when he stops breathing, require him to wear a tube in his throat at night to breathe. Gloucester Care Services previously provided trained carers so Andy, a designer, and Katie, 34, a part-time council worker, can sleep and keep their jobs. Susan Field, Director of Nursing at Gloucestershire Care Services NHS Trust, said: “There are no cost implications with this pathway of care and safe overnight services continue to be provided. “Community carers are trained to clear airways in an emergency situation and to maintain a clear airway until a tracheostomy tube can be changed. “Alerting and involving the parents is then the right thing to do.” For more information about CCHS visit: cchsukorg.squarespace.com.