Health: Mum told by 999 to give seriously ill son painkillers over ambulance delay

The mom of a Belfast man who collapsed exterior a hospital after being rushed there by his dad and mom mentioned she was shocked when a 999 name handler instructed her he ought to take painkillers as they must wait hours for an ambulance.

Brian Rooney, 35, suffered a coronary heart assault exterior the Royal Victoria Hospital’s emergency division after his bowel had perforated at dwelling.

He’s now in an induced coma following emergency surgical procedure, which resulted within the elimination of his gut.

The Northern Eire Ambulance Service (NIAS) apologised to Mr Rooney and his household “for not assembly their expectations when it comes to the care supplied to him”.

It mentioned it’s “unable to remark publicly on the element of particular person instances” however would “welcome the chance to debate, immediately with the household, the problems raised”.

Mr Rooney is in a vital however secure situation.

His mom Isobel Benson referred to as 999 after her son felt an “explosion” in his chest and was “screaming in agony”.

A hospital advisor later instructed her the perforated bowel meant the organ had “successfully exploded and the entire contents of his bowel would have been emptied all through his physique”.

Mr Rooney additionally has epilepsy, colitis and gout, and had not too long ago been out and in of hospital.

Within the early hours of Sunday morning Ms Benson mentioned she heard “an almighty scream” coming from her son’s attic room.

After seeing “the panic setting over his face”, she phoned for an ambulance.

Ms Benson mentioned she defined her son’s medical historical past and instructed the decision handler he was hyperventilating, in agony and couldn’t transfer.

After confirming he was respiratory, lucid and will speak, she was instructed it might be a few hours earlier than an ambulance might get to him on account of ongoing pressures on the well being service.

When Ms Benson responded that she wanted an ambulance now, the decision handler requested if she might take her son to hospital herself.

She mentioned she couldn’t as a result of she had a two-door automotive, which might be extraordinarily troublesome for Mr Rooney to journey in given his stage of ache, and her son’s father couldn’t drive at evening due to his personal well being points.

Ms Benson was instructed she must wait and to simply give him painkillers.

“I used to be actually traumatised after that decision. It simply beggared perception.

“My understanding of what a precedence name is – in case you have extreme chest pains, you are prioritized, that is an emergency.

“However on this case, as a result of he was coming throughout lucid, that it wasn’t deemed an emergency, and that was the tip of that and it wasn’t up for dialogue,” she mentioned.

Ms Benson mentioned her son began foaming on the mouth and coughing up blood, so she determined to attempt to carry him to hospital herself.

“I needed to manhandle Brian downstairs. I felt terrible.

“He was in agony and screaming at each transfer and switch of the stair,” she mentioned.

She received him down two flights of stairs and into her automotive.

On the doorways of the emergency division her son collapsed.

She mentioned safety employees after which medical employees got here out and “minimize his shirt up and began to provide him CPR as a result of his coronary heart had stopped”.

Ms Benson mentioned the advisor within the ED instructed her if that they had not made it to the hospital after they did “we’d be coping with a corpse now”.

She mentioned she understood the pressures on the well being service, however by no means thought, given her son’s medical historical past, he must wait so lengthy for an ambulance.

“They did say the ambulances that they did have, they could not go away the people that they have been with, and one would not be obtainable for a couple of hours,” add Ms Benson.

“That to me is speaking that we do not deem you an emergency.”

One in every of Mr Rooney’s sisters Roisin Wilshaw, who lives in England, confronted a troublesome journey again to Northern Eire after receiving a cellphone name from her mom in the course of the evening.

She booked a flight but it surely was cancelled on account of unhealthy climate, inflicting her stress as she apprehensive about whether or not she would make it dwelling in time to see her brother if the worst occurred.

“I used to be simply numb, after I first realised that my flight was cancelled, my coronary heart simply broke.”

She received dwelling 12 hours later.

Ms Benson mentioned her son now faces an unsure restoration.

As his gut was eliminated throughout surgical procedure, he’ll now use a stoma to gather waste.

“We’ve been instructed, even when Brian will get over this stage, the highway forward just isn’t going to be plain crusing – his life has modified.

“There’s nonetheless issues to be thought of like infections. All of the rehab he will want due to this.

“All these items that maybe, we do not know, might have been averted if an ambulance had of come out in time after I rang.”