Cyclist in crash outside hospital died after staff refused to help

A CYCLIST died after a passer-by rushed into a hospital to get help and was told to call 999 because there were no doctors.

Marc Banting saw Nick Wilsdon, 44, lose control of his bicycle and swerve sideways into a van outside Bristol Royal Infirmary (BRI).

Mr Banting went into the hospital to ask for help, but claims he was told to phone 999 as the hospital could not spare any doctors. Mr Wilsdon, a musician and therapist who was described as a “wonderful, talented, much-loved man” by his family, died of his injuries a few days later.

Mr Banting, 43, said he stopped to try to help the cyclist, but was unsure about moving him as Mr Wilsdon had clearly suffered serious head injuries.

He said: “I ran into the BRI and asked them to send a doctor out, but they refused. They said the doctors were all busy in A&E and they couldn’t just call one out of there, and to call 999 as it would be quicker.

“I told them there was a man dying in the street and they were not interested and reiterated to call 999. We had to call for an ambulance, which took its time as it was rush hour – it was easily 15 minutes, but it felt like an eternity.”

‘I told [the BRI] there was a man dying in the street and they were not interested and reiterated to call 999’

In a tribute, Mr Wilsdon’s family said: “Nick had an enormous group of friends all over the world who were always glad to see him. He was at base an intellectual who loved to explore ideas but was also a talented musician. His family – Jo, Colin, Toby, Sophie and his partner Margarita – miss him deeply.”

A spokesman for University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust said: “We advise everyone to call 999 if an accident has taken place. This is to ensure that patients are treated safely by professionals with the right training and essential equipment to do so before they are brought to hospital.

“Releasing staff from our A&E may also put patients already in our care at risk.”

Avon and Somerset Police have said their investigations into the accident are ongoing.

Mr Wilsdon was a familiar face on the Bristol music circuit as a fiddleplayer with folk band Calico Jack.

The 44-year-old spent time working as a music therapist in the Palestinian territories last summer and offered one-to-one music therapy sessions to Alzheimer’s patients in Bristol.

His bandmates paid tribute to him on social media: “We feel so lucky to have shared so much time with Nick and [to have had] many crazy magical adventures and memories that we will always hold dear.”