A former zoologist who was clubbed over the head as he waited for taxi home from a night out says the hospital that ‘turned him away three times’ were ‘playing with his life’.
Karl Scarr, 54, was attacked by a group of men as he stood in the taxi rank outside Faces nightclub in Gants Hill, Essex, after celebrating his birthday there with friends.
As a result of the attack, which also saw his friend’s ribs cracked and ear split, Mr Scarr suffered a brain heamorrhage.
But after Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford, turned him away three times, he claims he was left ‘moments from death’.
Karl Scarr (pictured), 54, was attacked by a group of men as he stood in the taxi rank outside Faces nightclub in Gants Hill, Essex, after celebrating his birthday there with friends
Eventually he was rushed to Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, where he had life-saving surgery.
But he still suffers from migraines, numbness, and is unable to read or write properly.
Mr Scarr, of Chelmsford, said: ‘I was getting these headaches so I went down to the doctors and they said go straight down to the hospital.
‘They sent me away because it had been longer than 48 hours.
‘The pain was still there, and it got worse, so I phoned up the ambulance and told them ‘look I’ve just come out of the hospital because of heart trouble and my doctor and the hospital say I might have a brain haemorrhage.
‘They didn’t send an ambulance out because I didn’t fit the criteria, which I thought was amazing.
‘I saw my doctor and he increased the painkillers and told me to let him know how I feel – the pain was incredible.
‘I went back into the hospital and they gave me a CT scan and they said I had a 7mm bleed.
‘They were confident it had ceased, and that it was contained, and they sent me home with nothing – not even a paracetamol.’
But after being sent away for the third time, Mr Scarr started to fear the worst.
As a result of the attack, which also saw his friend’s ribs cracked and ear split, Mr Scarr (pictured) suffered a brain heamorrhage
He continued: I was so ill. I called an ambulance and said you have to get me out to the hospital and they wouldn’t send one again.
‘I said look I’ve got a brain haemorrhage and I went up there myself, my mother dropped me off, and I waited in the waiting room.
‘They saw me, took me straight into the ward and said the bleed had increased to 10mm.
‘They kept me in all day and they were trying to get me a bed in Addenbrooke’s.
‘I was deteriorating massively and they said they had to fly me up there because it’s an hour and 15 minutes away, particularly with the weather we were having.
‘They said I could be dead within the hour but they took me in an ambulance – it took an hour and 20 minutes.
‘I was first on the list to be operated on the following day. They drilled three holes and they drained a bag of blood from me.
‘They were playing with my life. First the ambulance, then the hospital.
‘I wouldn’t have had the headaches, I wouldn’t have had the pain and it wouldn’t have spread so they have really messed around with my life.’
After being turned away from his local hospital, Broomfield, in Chelmsford, Essex, he was eventually rushed to Addenbrooke’s in Cambridge for life-saving surgery
Revellers queue outside Faces nightclub in Gants Hill, Essex where the attack happened
A spokesman for the Mid Essex Hospital Trust that manages Broomfield told Essex Live: ‘We are very sorry to hear that Mr Scarr is unhappy with the care and service we provided to him during his visits to Broomfield Hospital.
‘Please be advised that we will be contacting him directly to discuss this further.
‘Please be advised that the Trust takes all incidents and complaints very seriously, so we would also request that Mr Scarr is advised to contact our Patient Advice and Liaison (PALS) Service so he can have his concerns formally investigated.’
Mr Scarr, who used to work saving animals in Morocco and lives with 150 dogs, has also hit out at Essex Police after they failed to make any arrests.
His friend Gavin Mariner, 53, of Broomfield, said of the attack on November 12: ‘We don’t cause any trouble – we talk to random people and have a bit of fun.
‘This bloke was standing there, his face full of rage, and he just smashed Karl in the face.
‘I went towards him and didn’t even get two steps and someone came from the back and attacked me.’
Mr Scarr (pictured), who used to work saving animals in Morocco and lives with 150 dogs, has hit out at Broomfield Hospital and Essex Police after they failed to make any arrests
The pair claim they have had ‘next to no communication’ with officers and believe the offence should be branded more serious than GBH.
Mr Scarr said: ‘They didn’t contact me for a month, they had no intention of doing it, and they only did so because I phoned up twice and said I will contact your bosses to find out what’s going on.
‘These guys are still out there so who else are they going to do it to?
‘I’m not the smallest guy and they jumped me from behind and they managed to do me and Gavin.
‘It’s beyond GBH now – it’s close to manslaughter.
‘There has been silence and there still is.
‘They said they would take it to CID and put the photographs of the guys on their webpage.
‘They haven’t done it and it’s now been seven weeks. The attackers should end up in prison for what they are doing.’
The former zoologist (pictured) still suffers from migraines, numbness, and is unable to read or write properly
Mr Scarr is pictured with Karlitos the tortoise who was named after him
An Essex Police spokesman told Essex Live: ‘We are investigating reports that two men were assaulted in Chelmsford city centre on Sunday, November 12.
‘We were called to a disturbance between a number of people at around 4am, and while on scene, officers were made aware of an assault on the two victims by a group of men.
‘This happened close to the junction of Moulsham Street, near to a taxi rank.
‘At the time of reporting, the victims were shaken and had injuries, but none were identified as serious or life threatening.
‘On November 21, we were made aware that one of the victims had in fact sustained a very serious head injury, believed to have been a result of the attack.
‘At this stage it does not appear that the assault was captured on CCTV, however a number of lines of enquiry are being conducted as part of the investigation.
‘We have been liaising with the victims as we progress enquiries, and will continue to do so.
‘Anyone with information which could help our ongoing enquiries, is asked to contact Chelmsford Local Policing Team on 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.’
Pictured: Mr Scarr has hit out at Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford, after turning him away three times
Eventually the 54-year-old was admitted to Addenbrooke’s Cambridge (pictured)