Ambulance gets lost bringing patient to hospital
Suspected heart attack patient’s fury over 90-minute wait for crew who got lost taking him to hospital
A MAN who suffered a suspected heart attack waited nearly 90 minutes for an ambulance – which got lost as it took him to hospital.
Johnny Mcmanus, 63, thought he was going to die as he drifted in and out of consciousness at his home in Co Wexford suffering chest pains and dizziness.
But the nearest ambulance was almost an hour-and-a-half-away in Co Wicklow.
When it arrived at his home 85 minutes later, it took a wrong turn at a roundabout – forcing Johnny’s brother to guide paramedics to Wexford General Hospital on January 4.
Johnny, from Bishopwater, said: “Terence got into the back of the ambulance with me.
“We left my house and he happened to look out the window and he asked the paramedic if the driver knew where she was going as we seemed to be travelling in the wrong direction.
“We were in Rathaspeck and when the paramedic asked her what signs she saw, she said there was a sign for Johnstown Castle. Surely to God they’d have a sat nav?
“My brother got out of the ambulance and into the front and showed the driver where to go.”
Johnny was worried he would suffer the same fate as his dad, who had a fatal cardiac arrest in his early 60s. Both brothers have also had heart problems.
Johnny said: “I was very scared. My father died of a heart attack here in the same house when he was 64.
“My brother had a number of heart attacks before he died from cancer and my other brother had a heart attack the year before last.
“I was sure I was having a heart attack. I thought I was going to die. When I did get there [Wexford General], they were very good.”
Johnny was told his symptoms were caused by low blood pressure and he was discharged the next day.
He is due to have follow-up tests due at the end of the month.
Johnny added: “It was very frightening to not be able to get an ambulance. If I had been suffering from a heart attack, I would have been dead. It’s a total disgrace, a scandal.”
Mayor Tony Dempsey hit out at the HSE over the incident.
He said: “The people of Wexford town are afraid if something like this was to happen again, they might not be as fortunate. I expect the HSE to do a full investigation.”
The National Ambulance Service was contacted for comment.
If I’d been suffering a heart attack I would have been dead JOHNNY MCMANUS CO WEXFORD YESTERDAY
IT’S simply unacceptable that a suspected heart attack victim had to wait 90 minutes for an ambulance only for it to get lost on the way back to hospital.
Johnny Mcmanus thought he was going to die as he drifted in and out of consciousness at his home in Co Wexford, suffering chest pains and dizziness.
But the nearest ambulance was almost an hour-and-a-half-away in Wicklow.
When it finally arrived it took a wrong turn at a roundabout forcing Johnny’s brother Terence to get into the front seat and guide the paramedics to hospital.
They keep telling us we’re a wealthy country again. Time to prove it and put more ambulances on the road – and equip them with sat navs to help our hard-working paramedics.