A frightened woman who called 999 when a heavily-bleeding friend left her bathroom “looking like a murder scene” has criticised the emergency response.
Maureen Sinclair, 56, began haemorrhaging from her stoma bag while staying with Cathy MacCall, 57, in Oban.
An ambulance arrived after 25 minutes, but Cathy, who called the emergency number three times to stress the seriousness of the situation, said the wait felt far longer as she feared for her friend’s life.
The Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) has apologised for any distress caused during the incident on January 17 but said it was “triaged appropriately”.
Maureen, of Kilmichael in Argyll, had a stoma bag fitted in 2009 to collect waste from her body as a result of suffering from Crohn’s disease.
Earlier that day, she had gone to hospital after it started bleeding.
She said: “I was haemorrhaging. I sat down and the colour drained from my face. Cathy took me to A&E in a taxi.”
Overnight stay at Oban hospital
It was decided that Maureen should stay overnight at Oban’s Lorn and Islands Hospital for observation.
However, she realised that she did not have a fresh stoma bag with her. She said: “The ones they had at the hospital were the wrong size, so I couldn’t use them. The nurse said that they could allow me to go home to get it.”
Upon arrival at the flat, her condition deteriorated rapidly.
She said: “I walked the length of the kitchen and then the next thing it burst and I had blood pouring down my legs.
“I managed to get to the toilet and sat down but I couldn’t move. I put towels on me to stop the bleeding and we phoned the ambulance. We phoned an ambulance and twice, Cathie was told that someone would phone her back.
“I just can’t believe it took three phone calls to get an ambulance out. I’m worried that the same could happen to someone else and they might not be so lucky.
‘You expect an ambulance to come’
“If you dial 999 you expect an ambulance to come.
“The paramedics tried to stand me up and walk me out but realised that was impossible and put me on a trolley.”
It transpired that two blood vessels at the bottom of Maureen’s stoma had burst.
She underwent a procedure in the Lorn and Islands Hospital to stitch it the following day and is recovering at Cathy’s house.
Cathy said: “It was like a murder scene in my bathroom. It was horrendous.
“All Maureen was worried about was my floor. I was worried about Maureen. She could have died.
“I called 999 because it was an emergency. It is a disgrace. She could have bled to death.
“I explained what was going on and they said someone would phone back. I said no, I need an ambulance now. They were asking me all these questions.
“I said, this woman is stuck on the toilet, in pain and is haemorrhaging badly. I was told to wait, someone would phone back. All while I was trying to stem the blood. She was ready for keeling over.
“It was during my third phone call that the ambulance finally arrived.
‘Get an ambulance now’
“The third time I said, never mind your questions, get an ambulance here now.
“I had to shout down the phone to get an ambulance. Meanwhile Maureen was sitting there in a pool of blood.
“It is meant to be an emergency service.
“It was quite a frightening experience.”
The SAS has apologised to Maureen for the distress.
SAS say a robust triage process is in place
A spokesman said: “We are sorry to the patient for any distress caused and hope she is recovering well.
“While we are limited in what we can say because of patient confidentiality, we can confirm we received a call at 8.23pm on January 17.
“We have a robust triage process in place to ensure patients get the best response for their clinical need and based on the information provided, this call was triaged appropriately for further consultation from one of our advanced practitioners (AP).
“Following assessment from the AP, the call was upgraded and an ambulance was dispatched at 8.47pm and arrived at 8.48pm.”
Speaking about the decision to allow Maureen to leave hospital, a spokesman for NHS Highland said: “Argyll and Bute Health and Social Care Partnership due to patient confidentiality is unable to comment on individual cases.
“Lorn and Islands Hospital stock a range of stoma–care supplies. People self-managing sometimes have product preferences, which hospitals do not supply. If patients choose to go home to collect personal self-care items against medical advice, they are free to leave.”