A new father died after waiting over two hours for an ambulance and allegedly being left unmonitored in hospital, despite clear signs of a serious heart condition, it has been claimed by his grieving family and friends.
Sunil Rastogi, 40, who had been rushed to Southmead Hospital, in Bristol, by ambulance, reportedly received minimal medical attention before suffering a fatal cardiac arrest in front of his devastated wife and friends.
His wife, Priya, who had given birth to the pair’s newborn son on January 3, told the her ‘entire life has been turned upside down’ following the death of her husband. A friend has since set up a GoFundMe page to support the young family in their time of loss.
Priya, who had been married to Sunil for 14 years and whom she shared a seven-year-old daughter and one-month-old son with, said: ‘My daughter was so close to her dad, and now she has lost him because of the lack of response from emergency services,’ she said.
‘He died right in front of my eyes, and now the system must change so we don’t lose anymore innocent lives’.
The wife, who is now facing deportation to India following Sunil’s passing, has also filed a complaint to the coroner and PALS – the Patient Advice and Liaison Service, in an attempt to get justice over her husband’s death.
Also speaking to , Sanjeev Shakla, a family friend of Sunil explained his friend had just two days before his death carried out a naming ceremony for his newborn son.
Recalling the tragic last moments of Sunil’s life, Sanjeev claims his friend’s sudden death, which has left his young family’s life ‘shattered and broken’ could have been avoided.
In the early hours of February 17, Sunil awoke in his bed when he began suffering with gastritis symptoms.
He had stomach pain which quickly led to vomitting and heart palpitations.
Concerned for his wife, Priya, who was still recovering from a C-section she had undergone just last month, Sunil did not immediately raise the alarm of his illness.
But rapidly, his situation worsened and he began feeling numbness spread from his waist down through his legs and into his feet.
As it was the middle of then night, the father-of-two did not call for any medical help and decided to wait until the morning in the hope his mysterious symptoms would subside.
By 7:17am, Sunil’s condition had not improved and in a panic he called 111.
According to Sanjeev, his sick friend explained his symptoms to the emergency services telephone operator who insisted Sunil would receive a phone call from a medical professional.
He was called back at 7:51am – but nothing happened.
With his symptoms worsening, Sunil called his GP ten minutes later and was immediately advised to ring 999 directly.
At 8:12am, the man called the emergency services number, in a call that lasted just three minutes. But again, no help was provided.
Less than 15 minutes later, Sunil phoned 999 a second time, but this time Priya had to talk on her husband’s behalf as he was now so ill he could no longer speak.
It was then, they were informed for the first time, that an ambulance would be sent to the home.
But as the minutes went by, the small family grew increasingly concerned, sparking Priya to telephone the GP again at 8:37am as her husband was now completely unable to move his legs.
She was advised to call 999, for the third time.
Four minutes later, the terrified wife and new mother dialed the number, explaining she was worried that Sunil now could not move his legs, was experiencing severe pain and was having trouble breathing.
They were informed once again that an ambulance would come.
Just under two hours since the first phone call, an ambulance arrived at the home where paramedics performed medical checks on him as he lay in bed.
But according to Sanjeev, the paramedics were chatting and laughing among themselves throughout their checks, raising concerns that they were not taking Sunil’s condition ‘seriously’.
‘He was feeling cold, looking pale, his breathing had become shallow and fast,’ Sanjeev said, adding that the paramedics eventually carried out an ECG after checking his heart with a stethoscope.
Sunil was then asked if he could walk down the stairs from his bedroom but he denied, explaining that his legs were too numb to support his body weight.
Another ECG was performed due to the severity of his deteriorating condition and he was placed in a chair and taken to the ambulance where he was administered paracetamol trough an IVF.
It was 9:40am when the ambulance took off for Southmead Hospital.
A nervous Priya accompanied him in the back of the emergency vehicle where she explained her husband did not have any previous concerning medical history.
The medical team were allegedly asking Priya, who has no medical expertise or background, for advice on which drugs to administer, before giving him morphine.
Thirty five minutes later the ambulance arrived at the hospital and at 10:15am Sunil was brought into the building on a stretcher.
He was transferred to an A&E bed by hospital staff but Sanjeev claims no monitoring was carried out after his arrival.
‘There was no continuous monitoring of heart rate or continuous monitoring of blood pressure and oxygen level, nothing,’ Sanjeev told the .
‘And one thing which by this time Priya noticed, was that his ECG was abnormal, but he was not flagged as an immediate high risk case,’ he added.
Sanjeev claims Priya noticed that the ECG that had been carried out previously showed ST depression – indicating a potential underlying heart condition. Sunil was then administered a morphine antidote, raising serious questions about the hospital’s handling of his care.
‘Clearly Sunil was continuously trying to convey that he is undergoing tremendous pain, but nobody, nobody did anything,’ Sanjeev said.
‘They gave him antidote means like you are experimenting with somebody’s body. His body couldn’t cope with all this kind of experimentation,’ he added/
An hour passed before a nurse briefly checked on him, but when Sunil, struggling to speak, said he was feeling unwell, no further action was taken.
Then by 12pm, Sunil’s condition began to rapidly deteriorate and his symptoms significantly worsened.
‘His breathing was much more shallower and much more faster this time,’ Sanjeev said.
‘There were precisely three 3 people with him at that time, his wife and two of his friends next to him, and they pressed the emergency alarm button next to the bed’.
According to the friend, it is now feared that at that moment, Sunil was already in cardiac arrest.
He was rushed to ICU, but it was too late.
At 12:10pm, a consultant doctor confirmed the new father’s death.
His grieving family is now demanding answers. ‘He was left to die,’ a devastated Priya told the .
‘He had an abnormal ECG, but they didn’t act. He was clearly in distress, yet nothing was done. We believe if they had taken him seriously earlier, he would still be with us today.’
Southmead Hospital and South Western Ambulance Service have been approached for comment.
Priya and Sunil’s friends are now demanding that the hospital staff and paramedics take accountability over the two-hour ambulance wait, and the lack of immediate medical attention which they believe led to the father’s rapid death.
‘Even though India is not a developed country, the response of emergency department is totally different,’ Sanjeev said.
‘Emergency means emergency, and you were supposed to get the emergency attention and the care. And that was totally absent.
‘The treatment that day was like somebody just sitting and waiting in their GP, and if something can be taken or learned from this episode, is that there is a serious need of introspection in the overall medical system in this country because this is failing us, and the cost of this failure is severe.
‘People are losing lives just because of the casual attitude, I am fairly certain that with the proper treatment this outcome might have been totally different’.
Sanjeev has since set up a GoFundMe fundraiser to support Sunil’s family which has already raised over £33,000.
Professor Steve Hams, Chief Nursing Officer at North Bristol NHS Trust, said: ‘Firstly, we would like to offer our deepest condolences to Sunil’s family following their loss.
‘I want to acknowledge the profound impact this has had on them and assure them, and the wider public, that we take this matter with the utmost seriousness.
‘As a result of Sunil’s death, we have already started a comprehensive review to understand the full circumstances of what happened.
‘However, at this stage, it would not be appropriate to pre-empt any conclusions. We are committed to working alongside all parties involved, including Sunil’s family.
‘We would also like to reassure everyone that patient safety remains our absolute priority at North Bristol NHS Trust.
‘This review will help us to not only understand what happened but also to ensure that we continue to deliver the highest standard of care for every patient who comes through our doors.
‘We remain committed to learning and improving wherever necessary.’