A blind double transplant patient was told he did not meet the criteria for an ambulance, despite being warned by doctors he needed emergency treatment to “save his organs”.
Russell MacMillan, who received a life-saving kidney and pancreas transplant 18 years ago, told of his ordeal as doctors’ leaders warned some patients are facing waits of up to four days in Scotland’s A&E departments.
Mr MacMillan became seriously unwell after catching flu a few days before Christmas.
He suffered prolonged sickness and diarrhoea, which meant he was unable to keep his anti-rejection medication down and stay hydrated, which is essential to keep transplanted kidneys healthy.
After three days, on December 21, after becoming increasingly concerned, he called his GP – but he was out on an emergency home visit.
He then called the transplant unit at Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.
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He said he was told they did not have free beds but he “needed to be seen” to receive emergency fluids and was advised to call 111 and request an ambulance.
His GP later returned his call and gave him the same advice.
However, he says he was told by the call handler that he didn’t meet the threshold for emergency transport, despite him explaining that his wife was also unwell with flu and wasn’t in a position to drive him to hospital.
He said: “I was told I didn’t qualify for an ambulance despite me being blind, my wife being ill and told to do so by the doctor covering the renal transplant ward.
“They said I should phone my GP.
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“Once I got through to my GP, he eventually managed to order an ambulance, but was told it would be more than two hours, then a big wait in the ambulance. I was told it was likely to be six hours minimum.
“I had already been without fluids for 40-plus hours.
“As a kidney transplant patient, I am supposed to be able to drink two litres of water per day to make sure I’m keeping my kidneys hydrated.
“When you pick up something like the flu, coming with vomiting and diarrhoea, you are in severe danger because not only can you not keep down fluids, you can’t take your anti-rejection therapy.
“I was terrified of losing my pancreas and kidney so I got my wife to drive me.”
He says they went straight to the transplant ward instead of going to A&E because he was so concerned about any further delays.
Mr MacMillan said: “I knew my veins were becoming weaker and weaker through severe dehydration.
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“I opted to go straight to the transplant ward, chapped the door and said ‘help I’m in trouble’. Had I gone down to A&E then I don’t know what state my kidney would have been in.
“Thankfully a renal transplant doc, recognising the danger of rejection, put me in a consulting room – they didn’t have a bed – and set up a drip pushing as much fluid as possible into my system and preventing failure of my organs.
“The consultant told me my veins were collapsing.”
It comes as a doctors’ leader warned that Scots patients are facing waits of up to four days in accident and emergency departments amid warnings the NHS is about to experience a “perpetual winter” of pressures.
Dr John-Paul Loughrey, the vice-president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine Scotland (RCEM), estimated 50 deaths a week may be being caused by the crisis north of the Border.
He said: “We have patients in some departments in Scotland waiting, instead of four hours, almost four days at times, we have had recorded long waits of 72-plus hours in some places.
“And that’s the increased risk of death.”
Mr MacMillan remained in hospital for five days before he was taken home by ambulance on Boxing Day, as his wife was also unwell with flu.
He said: “The staff were absolutely lovely but they were run ragged.
“I am so grateful that a renal doctor recognised the danger and put me into a consulting room, not a ward, and put in a drip line.
“The real nub of this issue is as long as we continue to pay our home carers such paltry wages, we are not going to have enough home carers to provide the packages to free up beds in hospital for things like preventing transplanted organs being rejected.”
Pauline Howie, director of service delivery at NHS 24 said: “We are sorry to hear Mr MacMillan has been unwell.
“We would welcome feedback about his experience of calling 111, which would enable us to look into the advice and care he received.
"Our patient experience team can be contacted via patient.experience@nhs24.scot.nhs.uk”
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