Man saves sister’s life
Race to ED after ambulance diverted
The family of a 16-year-old girl showing signs of hyperglycaemia has questioned the availability of ambulances in the capital after her brother carried her semiconscious body into Hutt Hospital.
A doctor told them Eloise Jacomb, a type-1 diabetic, could have died on January 21 if her 22-year-old brother Dre was not at home when she wandered out of her Heretaunga bedroom in a dazed state.
She felt ill but didn’t realise it was a result of high blood sugar, Dre said.
‘‘She was starting to slur her words, couldn’t stay awake and wasn’t really making any sense when she was talking.’’
He tried to help her eat and drink something, then phoned his guardian, Michael Jacomb, who was away from home. Dre needed to find Eloise’s emergency diabetes kit but the family had just moved, and it wasn’t there.
When her condition deteriorated, two calls were made to 111, first by Michael and then Dre. It was just after 8pm on the public holiday and Wellington Free Ambulance paramedics were responding to 15 other calls.
A few minutes Dre made the call, the woman on the line said the ambulance had been diverted to a life-threatening matter. He was told to wait for the next available one but said he was not told how long it could take.
‘‘I knew I could get to the hospital in about 15 to 20 minutes. I thought if the next available ambulance is going to be longer than 20 minutes, I may as well drive her myself. She was starting to lose consciousness.’’
When Dre said he would take his sister to the hospital, he was told to monitor Eloise’s condition on route and pull over and call 111 immediately if her condition worsened.
He drove her to Hutt Hospital’s emergency room and carried her inside. ‘‘They [the doctors] said if I had left her, then she would have died.’’ There were 15 Wellington Free Ambulances and four response cars on the road on Wellington Anniversary during the day and 12 ambulances and two response cars overnight. The service attended 121 callouts that day which it said was on par with other days. ‘‘Wellington Free Ambulance resources its emergency ambulances the same on a public holiday compared to any other day,’’ communications adviser Sarah Coulthard said. She said a crew was assigned and on route to Heretaunga within 45 seconds of the first call. After six minutes in transit, the ambulance was diverted to a more serious incident.
‘‘This incident was immediately life threatening with a patient at high risk of cardiac arrest. Within minutes, another vehicle was dispatched and on route to the patient.’’
Wellington Free Ambulance confirmed it had received a complaint after the Monday, January 21, callout and it was being investigated.
Michael said the family had chosen to speak about the incident ‘‘so this terrible event doesn’t happen to others’’.
Eloise was recovering and was expected to be discharged soon.