A Skye teacher nearly died while waiting nearly an hour for an ambulance after going into anaphylactic shock.
Eilidh Beaton, 27, used five Epi-pens in a bid to stay alive as she broke out in hives, her throat closed over and she drifted in and out of consciousness on Saturday night.
All local ambulances were already attending incidents, including the tragic death of a woman at Skye Live Festival.
Eilidh told The Press and Journal: “At one point I thought if I don’t get oxygen I will not be here tomorrow.”
Primary school teacher Eilidh had stopped at pub An Talla Mòr 1820 with her partner Michael Matheson, 24, on the way home from the festival.
She suddenly felt unwell and realised she must have somehow come into contact with an allergen.
Eilidh said: “I knew that I needed medical help as soon as possible.
“I started to shake uncontrollably and felt as though my throat was closing over.
“I used my epi-pen and Michael went to phone 999.
“My body started to be covered in hives and I could not breathe.
“I asked my friends to get me to the hospital – but I was too unwell to be taken there in anything other than an ambulance.
“I was coming in and out of consciousness. My airways were shutting down.”
‘We were a stone’s throw from the closed Portree Hospital – but it was locked up’
Highland Council worker Michael explained: “Shortly before midnight, Eilidh felt sick and spewed and she realised she was having an allergic reaction to something.”
“I phoned 999 and eventually got through. I was told that Portree ambulance was away on a call.
“The Portree ambulance was called to the south of the island to deal with an emergency, and the ambulance based in Broadford was taking a patient to Raigmore.
“There were two category one emergencies within five minutes of each other.
“We were a stone’s throw away from the closed Portree Hospital – but it was locked up.”
Portree Community Hospital is minutes from where the festival was held, at Am Meall, known locally as The Lump.
It provides urgent care by appointment only between 8:30am and 7:30pm.
However, locals, including Eilidh and Michael, have been campaigning for a round-the-clock emergency service which is hampered due to a lack of ambulances on the island.
There are only two in operation, with one based at Portree and the other at Broadford Hospital, which is roughly 40 minutes away.
They are also aided by a Rapid Response Unit.
Desperate plea for oxygen mask as Eilidh struggled to breathe
When Michael phoned, all three vehicles were dealing with emergencies, with only the ambulance assisting the woman who sadly died in the Portree area.
While waiting on an ambulance, Eilidh was assisted by passing Coastguard and an advanced medical practitioner.
The Coastguard crew had oxygen but needed a mask to deliver it to Eilidh.
However, when Michael went to Portree to get one, he was ignored – despite throwing stones at the windows in a desperate bid to get the attention of anyone in the building.
Eventually, he was given an oxygen mask by staff after Michael phoned 999 and the operator contacted the hospital on his behalf.
Michael continued: “The Coastguard were called to help but they didn’t have the correct equipment, so they paged Portree lifeboat to assist.
“The lifeboat man came to the pub and he had oxygen but no mask to help.
“At this point Eilidh was struggling to breathe very badly.
“The lifeboat man sent me to Portree Hospital where I was to get a face mask, he asked me to knock on the door.
“Maybe I was knocking too loudly – because no one answered.
“So I was throwing stones at the windows to try to get someone to help me.
“The lights were on, and I think hospital staff were in the building overnight.
“The 999 call handler phoned me back, and I explained what was happening. She said she would help get me a mask.
“She phoned the hospital to let me in.
“I eventually got the mask and ran back to the 1820 with it, and they got it onto Eilidh.
“She got the mask on and she semi-stabilised.
“She waited almost an hour for an ambulance, and even after it arrived they had to stabilise her again for 30 minutes, before driving the 40-minute journey to Broadford.
“It is a really scary thing when someone has an allergic reaction.”
Eilidh has made a full recovery after spending the night in hospital.
However, both she and Michael feel let down by the NHS and Scottish Ambulance Service and say their experience is an example of why a 24-hour accident and emergency unit is needed in Portree.
The couple were particularly surprised that no exception to Portree Hospital’s opening hours had been made due to the festival, which was sold out and attracts thousands of revellers each year.
A&E ‘should have been open’ for Skye Live Festival
Michael added: “This is one of the island’s biggest festivals, and probably the largest event of the year. The A&E should have been open.”
“It just makes the point that on one of the biggest weekends of the year for Skye, we were not able to get the medical care we needed because the hospital was closed.
“It just makes no sense.
Why were there no doctors on call in the hospital even? There was nothing – no help, and thankfully Eilidh is ok.
“But she could have died because there was no medical help at the hospital.
“It is a sorry state.”
He also praised staff at An Talla Mòr 1820, who closed to help Eilidh.
He said: “The pub staff and bouncers at the 1820 did a brilliant job.
“As soon as they understood what was happening they cleared the pub.
“All the staff helped and they could not help enough.”
A spokesman for NHS Highland said: “The Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) responded to both incidents, with support from an off-duty ANP on-site and a doctor from The Broadford Hospital Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department attended.
“For one of the incidents, an oxygen mask was secured from Portree Hospital to support with the ongoing treatment.
“Due to patient confidentiality, it would be inappropriate for us to make further comment.”
A spokesperson for the Scottish Ambulance Service said: “We received a call at 23:56 hours on Saturday 11 May to attend an incident in Portree, Skye.
“We dispatched one ambulance to the scene and one patient was transported to Broadford Hospital, Skye.”
Skye Live Festival has been approached for comment.
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