Wife tells of terrifying ordeal of trying to get help in early hours

Simon Bristow reports Yorkshire Evening Post

A WOMAN claims her husband nearly died after being locked out of an East Yorkshire hospital while suffering a heart attack. John Deakin woke up in the middle of the night with severe chest pains, and rather than call an ambulance, his wife May decided to drive him to her local hospital in Bridlington.

The couple were astonished to find the hospital closed – and were forced to spend an anxious 20 minutes waiting in the cold for an ambulance to arrive from Scarborough.

Mrs Deakin said: "John had been in pain all night but we thought it was indigestion and that he'd be all right with a good night's sleep.

"But he woke up in agony at about 1.30am and I decided to get him dressed and drive him to hospital. I had no idea it would be closed. I pressed an emergency button and was asked what service I required.

"I said 'I don't need one, I'm standing outside the hospital and my husband's having a heart attack'.

"They took some details and said they'd send an ambulance. I told them I didn't need one because I was standing at the door.

"It took about 20 minutes but it seemed like forever. He was getting worse by the minute, he was going down. His left arm had gone dead and he was sweating even though it was cold. It was terrifying."

Mr Deakin, 58, was stabilised by paramedics when they arrived and then admitted to the hospital in Bessingby Road. He has spent the last six days being treated and was expected to be allowed home today.

His wife has since added her name to almost 20,000 others calling for Bridlington and District Hospital's minor injuries unit to be reopened between 9pm and 9am.

On September 4, Scarborough and North East Yorkshire NHS Trust closed the unit between those hours. It said the closure was temporary and a result of staff shortages.

Although patients such as Mr Deakin should not have been affected, with other services at the hospital continuing around the clock, the unit's closure is thought to have made access to the hospital more difficult.

The closure has left patients in the town, which has a population of about 44,000, either having to rely on an out-of-hours GP service, or the accident and emergencies unit at Scarborough General Hospital.

The trust is in desperate financial straits. It has a historical deficit of £13.4m, and a projected overspend this financial year of £9m.

"I think it's disgusting," said Mrs Deakin, 52. "Your health should not be put at risk by people trying to balance the books."

Mick Pilling, who has organised the petition on behalf of the Save Bridlington Hospital campaign, said Mr Deakin's case proved that lives were being put at risk by the closure.

He said: "If you go up to the hospital at night all the doors are locked – what kind of hospital is that?
"Most of us have paid our National Insurance contributions and our income tax and yet we are not getting the service we deserve."

Sue Wellington, the hospital's locality manager, said an investigation had been launched into why Mr Deakin's treatment had been delayed.

She said: "We have very clear systems and protocols which are designed to prevent any sort of delay, so it is important to find out if these did not work, and if so, why not and what can be done to prevent a future recurrence." 29 September 2006 This is not the first case, 9th September 2006 Matt Coleman also refused admission, he could also have died, we need an investigation now claims Mick Pilling