Desperate gran Dorothy Southard tried to attempted suicide after being warned not to dial 999 again by paramedics.
The 89-year-old had been suffering headaches for months – but was too scared of calling 999 because she had previously made calls where the medics could not find anything wrong with her.
She called the NHS 111 helpline three times after she fell outside her local bingo hall in April.
Dorothy Southard at her home in Oxford holding a photograph of her late husband Bob. Ambulance bosses have apologised to her after she attempted suicide because paramedics warned her not to call 999
When paramedics did turn up to answer an overdose call in June, they rushed her to hospital – and a CT scan finally identified two bleeds on the brain sustained during a fall two months earlier.
Mrs Southard, from Oxford, was left feeling alone with nowhere to turn, relatives say, and took an overdose after suffering with headaches for months due to an undiagnosed bleed on the brain.
She was eventually admitted to the John Radcliffe Hospital for 10 days and is now recovering at home.
South Central Ambulance Service managers have admitted the level of care provided was unacceptable.
Angry family describe gran’s pain
The outraged family have described Mrs Southard’s ordeal
Her daughter Anne Weston said: ‘I was terrified.
‘She actually said to me ‘please don’t bring me back’ – she just felt she had nowhere to turn.
Mrs Southard, of Oxford had been suffering headaches for months – but was too scared of calling 999 because she had previously made calls where medics could not find anything wrong with her
‘She was very tearful and told me she was holding a picture of my father in her hands.’
Mts Southard did call emergency services on June 7 to say her ‘head felt heavy’, describing feeling as though there was a build up of fluid.
But hours passed with no sign of an ambulance and so Anne, who lives in Devon, told her mother to dial 999.
Anne said: ‘She was in a terrible state.
‘She had to crawl along the floor to unlatch the door ready for when the paramedics came.
‘But when they came he just told her not to call 111 or 999 again.
‘I was on the phone and I said what about if she has a heart attack? He just replied ‘still do not call 999’.
‘I was so angry I couldn’t believe what he was saying.’
An undiagnosed brain bleed
South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SCAS) said, following an investigation, they had issued a ‘sincere apology for the unacceptable level of care’
With her condition worsening, Mrs Southard found herself unable to get out of the bath the next day but, following the paramedic’s words, was too fearful to pull the emergency cord in her home to raise the alarm.
By chance she was found by her granddaughter two hours later.
She was then admitted to hospital where the infection was found, but not the brain bleed, and was sent home the following day.
Then on June 12 ambulance staff failed to pick up Mrs Southard to take her for a health check.
Again feeling let down and alone, and still suffering from an undiagnosed brain bleed, she called her daughter that evening to say she had taken an overdose.
Fuming Anne says the family still feel angry and let down at the ‘appalling’ treatment by the SCAS medic.
Anne said: ‘It just makes me angry to think they can do that.
‘If I wasn’t around she wouldn’t be here now.
‘What happens to other people who don’t have some to fight their corner?’
South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SCAS) said, following an investigation, they had issued a ‘sincere apology for the unacceptable level of care’.
The spokesperson added: ‘As a result of this investigation, disciplinary action was undertaken along with identifying additional training and supervision for the individual staff member involved.
‘In addition, the trust has offered to visit Mrs Weston and her mother to talk to and reassure them both about when and how to contact the ambulance service should they need to do so in the future.’