STROKE VICTIM PAYS PRICE FOR AMBULANCE DELAY
Patient left with speech and mobility problems faces years of rehab and physio
A STROKE patient waited so long for an ambulance that medics were unable to give him a new treatment which lessens the chance of permanent disability.
Now Brian Sneddon, 61, could face months or even years of rehabilitation and physiotherapy to recover after being left with speech and mobility problems.
Stroke campaigns have repeatedly highlighted the need to detect a stroke quickly and get the patient immediate care.
But no ambulance was available to get Brian to hospital in time for speedy treatment.
His story is the latest in a long line of examples highlighted by the Daily Record.
Yesterday, we told how the trade union Unite was calling for urgent changes to save lives and protect patients and paramedics, including a 30-minute maximum turnaround time from hospitals.
Last Wednesday, Brian’s wife Susan popped out for a couple of hours, leaving him alone in the house.
When she returned, she found him slumped on the toilet floor. He couldn’t stand up, she was unable to lift him and he was only able to speak single words.
He had a stroke two years ago so she recognised the tell-tale signs and called an ambulance.
The 999 service told her help was on the way. She immediately called their son Steven, 40, who arrived 20 minutes later.
Steven said: “My cousin and I managed to get him out the bathroom and into his bed.
“I called back 999 an hour after I arrived and the call handler asked me if his symptoms had changed. I said no but he had still had a stroke.
“I was told they were aware of the situation and that the waiting time was between one and four hours.
“I told him that wasn’t good enough and he said, ‘I know it’s not good enough’. I waited another 45 minutes. By this time it was more than two hours since the ambulance had been called so my cousin and I decided to carry him downstairs ourselves and put him in my car.
“That was quite distressing for him. He was groaning and sounded in pain. But we knew we had to get him to hospital as quickly as possible.” Steven drove his dad to Glasgow Royal Infirmary, five minutes from the family home in Haghill, and ran to the door to ask a porter for a wheelchair. But 15 minutes later the porter returned and said none was available.
Steven added: “At that point, a senior nurse overheard and told me to reverse my car into the ambulance bay and they would get him.
“A few people came out, lifted him on to a stretcher and took him away. About two hours later we were still sitting at A&E waiting to hear how he was when a doctor phoned my mum at home. He told her Dad was comfortable and they were doing tests but he was phoning for a timeline of when things happened.
“He said there was a new treatment available at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital for strokes but it was too late for him because it had to be done within four hours of the stroke. But if the ambulance had got him in time, it would have been early enough to do it.”
The family still don’t know how bad his stroke has been because they are still awaiting an update but a long period of rehab and physio is expected.
Steven said: “I understand there is a crisis but, if they can’t get to a stroke patient in two hours, something is far wrong. Clearly there is an underfunding and understaffing problem.”
Local MSP Paul Sweeney said he was “blown away” that an ambulance wasn’t with Brian in 10 minutes. “If we can’t get an ambulance to a stroke patient, what the hell is going on?
“When ambulances were raised at First Minister’s Questions last week, we just got a total denial.”