Hospital battle over collapse dad
A FAMILY are demanding answers over what they say were hospital delays in diagnosing a dad-of-four who has been told to plan for life in a wheelchair.
Glen Urmson, 59, was fit and well when he suffered a sudden ‘brain seizure’ while at work on November 30 last year.
Glen, a quantity surveyor from Shaw, Oldham, began ‘convulsing and collapsed on the floor,’ according to his family.
Colleagues called for an ambulance but Glen’s heartbroken loved ones claim paramedics were driving around for ‘five hours’ as the Royal Oldham Hospital and other emergency departments in Greater Manchester were full.
Eventually, Glen was taken in at Fairfield General Hospital in Bury where doctors carried out tests. The medics could not pinpoint the cause of the seizure and sent Glen home, according to wife Debbie, 58.
But within days, he was in ‘so much pain that he couldn’t walk,’ forcing the family to seek emergency help again. After 999 operators told Debbie there would be a seven-hour wait for an ambulance, she managed to get Glen into the car and took him to the Royal Oldham Hospital alone.
“He had really severe back pain,” the family said. “We put it down to him fitting the Christmas lights. He went back to A&E. They said he was having muscle spasms from falling during the seizure – they discharged him with codeine and diazepam.
“They wheelchaired him out to my mum and didn’t run any further tests, despite him being in absolute agony, they dismissed it. This was all in the space of a few days.”
He was eventually taken to hospital again after collapsing in front of paramedics on Christmas Eve.
A month after Glen’s first seizure, he was admitted to a ward, suffering confusion and saying he was ‘in an army camp.’
On December 28, an MRI scan revealed a severe spinal infection, featuring abscesses that had burst and were compressing on Glen’s spinal cord. He was rushed to Salford Royal Hospital for an emergency operation. His family said: “Had our mum not pleaded with paramedics to take him to hospital, he would likely have died at home over Christmas. The surgeon said they had never seen a spinal infection so bad.”
After seven hours of ‘touch and go’ surgery, medics found that the ‘infection had disintegrated the discs in Glen’s back.’
Dr Chris Brookes, chief medical
Officer and deputy chief executive for Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the Royal Oldham, Fairfield and Salford Royal Hospitals, said: “We are sorry to hear of Mr Urmson’s circumstances, including the challenges surrounding his admission and diagnosis.” He added: We acknowledge that these experiences have sadly resulted in Mr Urmson and his family feeling let down, and we are deeply sorry for that.
“Patient safety and high standards of care are our priority and I would encourage Mr Urmson and his family to contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service so that we can hear in more detail the issues surrounding his care. We will then follow up with them directly, to demonstrate our commitment to understanding individuals’ experiences to help us learn and improve. We send Mr Urmson our best wishes for a full recovery.”
A North West Ambulance Service spokesperson added: “We would like to offer Mr Urmson and his family our best wishes.”