Man breaks BACK on way to hospital in wife's car after no ambulances

Man breaks BACK on way to hospital in wife’s car after no ambulances were available: Patient told to ‘make his own way to A&E’ suffered epileptic seizure and is left with life-changing injuries

• Tim Richardson, 54, and wife Janie, of Sudbury in Suffolk, called 999 on June 20
• The couple have blamed the crippling pressures on the NHS for what happened
• In the car, Mr Richardson began shaking violently and foaming at the mouth
• The couple said the consultant told them two of his vertebrae had fractured
• They added this was a result of his having a seizure in the car with his seatbelt on

A man suffered an epileptic seizure and broke his back because his wife was forced to drive him to hospital after they were told there were no ambulances available.

Tim Richardson, 54, has been left with life-changing injuries, having broken two vertebrae, after his wife Janie was told ‘to take yourself to hospital’ when she phoned the emergency line.

The couple, from Sudbury in Suffolk, have blamed the crippling pressures on the NHS for what happened, with the East of England Ambulance Service reporting that it will be responding to their complaint.

The pair thought Mr Richardson might be having another stroke on June 20, so they desperately called their local G surgery who referred them to 999.

But Mrs Richardson said she was put in a call queue and then through to an automated message, which advised ‘to take yourself to hospital if you were able to’, she told the BBC.

Tim Richardson, 54, has been left with life-changing injuries, having broken two vertebrae, after his wife Janie was told ‘to take yourself to hospital’ when she phoned the emergency line

Mr Richardson called his wife on June 28 to tell her he was ‘screaming out for assistance’ and ended up forced to defecate in the bed at Ipswich Hospital

She added the message explained that the service was under ‘extreme pressure’ and there were no ambulances available.

So Mrs Richardson drove her husband in the passenger seat to West Suffolk Hospital.

On the way, Mr Richardson began shaking violently and foaming at the mouth, causing her to get ‘hysterical’ and hurriedly stop the car.

Members of the public came over to help and another call to get an ambulance was made.

By the time a paramedic car arrived, Mrs Richardson said her husband was ‘screaming’ with back pain.  

Later, an ambulance arrived and drove Mr Richardson to hospital.

The couple said that this was when a consultant told them that two of the 54-year-old’s vertebrae had fractured, which was a consequence of his having had a seizure in the car with his seatbelt on.

The pair said they never would have driven in the car if they had known that an ambulance might have become available.

Mr Richardson was then moved to Ipswich Hospital, where he would have surgery to put 17cm rods in his back.

The couple said staff here were in tears as a result of the immense pressure they were under.

Mr Richardson described a ward that was ‘disgracefully under-staffed’, with the area around his bed dirty and food left for him that he was unable to reach.

Mr Richardson was then moved to Ipswich Hospital, where he would have surgery to put 17cm rods in his back. In unbearable pain from the injury a week ago, ‘I lay in bed waiting to die,’ he said

He called his wife on June 28 to tell her he was ‘screaming out for assistance’ and ended up forced to defecate in the bed.  

Giles Thorpe, chief nurse at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Ipswich Hospital, told the BBC: ‘We were very concerned to hear about the issues raised by Mrs Richardson in her complaint to the Trust.

‘A formal investigation is under way, and we will involve Mr and Mrs Richardson fully with our review and findings once that investigation is complete.’

While Mr Richardson had been left partially sighted because of a stroke in 2021, he described himself as ‘very fit with hobbies and a keen golfer to club standard’.

But now, not only can he not play his beloved sport, but he is even struggling to get dressed in the morning.

Mr Richardson described a ward that was ‘disgracefully under-staffed’, with the area around his bed dirty and food left for him that he was unable to reach

In unbearable pain from the injury a week ago, ‘I lay in bed waiting to die,’ he said.

Mrs Richardson believed the NHS is buckling under the immense pressures it is facing and that what happened to her husband is a consequence of this.

‘When is this going to be corrected? This has to be addressed at the highest levels,’ she said.

‘How many people are dying or being permanently disabled because the service is failing?’

A spokesman for the East of England Ambulance Service told the BBC: ‘Our services are under incredible demand and sometimes callers will hear an automated message asking them to stay on the line, and consider making their own way to hospital only if safe to do so.

‘In extreme circumstances, if a call has not been picked up for three minutes, it is automatically rerouted to another ambulance service.

‘Our paramedics are trained to dynamically risk assess situations and act in the best interests of the patient’s health. Mr and Mrs Richardson have made a formal complaint and we will be shortly responding to the questions they have raised.’

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