An Aberdeenshire family has hit out after being told a stroke victim could have to wait “up to seven hours” for an ambulance.
Mark Buchan, who lives in Inverurie, fell ill on the evening of September 30.
The 46-year-old’s family had to take him on a 16-mile trip in a private car to get him to hospital in Aberdeen.
The ordeal started when Mr Buchan’s teenage son Archie found his father unable to get out of his seat.
The 16-year-old phoned 999.
Mark’s sister Lindsey arrived at the flat in Inverurie town centre around 20 minutes later.
She was joined by his sister-and-law Paula. The pair were there before first responders arrived.
The concerned family members suspected Mark, who is diabetic, had suffered a stroke.
Paula was not impressed by the first responders.
“They were saying his sugar levels were high. We were saying to them his sugar levels are always high because he gets insulin,” she explained.
“I said to them, ‘I’m 99% sure he’s had a stroke’.
“They were on the phone to the ambulance and they were saying they think it’s the sugar levels.
“I said, ‘you’re not listening to me, his right side is affected. I think he’s had stroke, you need to get an ambulance out here’.”
Community first responder ‘joked’ about ambulance delays
To make matters worse, Mr Buchan’s sister-in-law claims one of the first responders was joking on the phone to the ambulance call handler during the life-or-death situation.
“They were saying we’d get an ambulance quicker to Krakow (in Poland) than we would here. We were saying to them, ‘this isn’t funny, this isn’t funny at all’,” Paula said.
The family was told they would have to wait up to seven hours for an ambulance.
And after hearing that Mark was only considered to be at an amber stage rather than danger red – the family took it in their own hands to get him to A&E.
Paula revealed they were at odds with advice from the medics.
She said: “We got him in the stretcher and the first responders were saying, ‘you can’t lift him, we’re not allowing you to lift him’ and I said, ‘watch us, this is ridiculous’.”
Paula continued: “It was just horrendous. For heart and stroke matters, the ambulance should be there.”
Around 30 minutes later Mark and the family arrived in the car at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
Family’s actions ‘100% saved his life’
Paula claims a doctor asked her if Mark was taken by ambulance – and when she said he was not, he allegedly told her their actions “100% saved his life”.
Paula also claims the medic branded the lack of ambulance availabililty “disgusting”.
“You’ve only got four hours to get rescue meds into somebody who’s had a stroke. It’s horrific, it’s not on at all,” she told The Press and Journal.
She also claims that 11 ambulances were stacked up outside the hospital when they arrived, which is becoming a regular occurrence at NHS Grampian’s flagship facility.
Despite Mark’s life being saved, the family’s nightmare did not finish there.
After initially spending time at ARI, he was transferred to Woodend Hospital to finish his rehabilitation.
However, Paula says he was put out of Woodend and sent home “because they obviously need the bed”.
According to the family, Mark was only “40%” back to fitness and unable to work his mobile phone, leaving him isolated.
He got home on October 31 to his top-floor flat “without anything put in place”.
Mark’s family has questioned whether more could be done to help him by Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership and NHS Grampian.
‘We apologise for the delay in reaching the patient’
A spokesman for the Scottish Ambulance Service said: “We apologise for the delay in reaching the patient.
“At the time of the call, we were experiencing significant and ongoing hospital turnaround time delays at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary which averaged in excess of two hours per vehicle and despite our efforts we were unable to release a crew sooner to respond.
“One of our community first responders was able to attend the patient and have been trained to attend this type of incident.
“They carried out an assessment and passed this to the ambulance control centre to aid in decision-making.
“An ambulance was due to be dispatched but we were advised the family and patient were making their own way to hospital.
“We recognise that the length of time the patient waited was unacceptable and would encourage Mr Buchan to contact our feedback team so we can engage with them about their experience.”
An NHS Grampian spokeswoman added: “We cannot comment on individuals, as we have a duty to maintain patient confidentiality.
“Anyone with any concerns about their care or the care provided to a relative, should get in touch with our feedback service directly so we can investigate their concerns in full. They can do this by emailing gram.nhsgrampianfeedback@nhs.scot.
“Speaking generally, the decision to discharge someone from hospital is made based on their clinical condition and the most appropriate place for them to continue their recovery.”
We have also reached out to Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership.
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