The SAS has been condemned for the death of a man who bled to death while waiting for an ambulance in January

The Andalucía High Court (TSJA) has ordered the Andalucía Health Service (SAS) to pay €109,000 to the widow and two children of a deceased person. Bleeding in your own home In January, when the ambulance took more than an hour to arrive, there were no medical staff on board. By the time the patient was transferred to a hospital just 200 meters from their home, more than three hours had passed since his wife first dialed 061 for help.

Ultimately, the patient died after waiting for medical transport, which “for no reason did not arrive on time”, lamented Carmen Flores, president of the El Defensor del Paciente association, to which the patient’s family turned for help after the incident. . “I obviously died without emergency medical care Negligent”, he added after learning that TSJA supported the appeal filed by the relatives of the deceased.

After years of court battles, the Blanco family felt satisfaction and relief upon receiving the verdict, but also regret as they recalled the tragedy that rocked their lives six years ago. “It’s a bittersweet feeling,” José realized. “Serious error” What led to his father’s death and the huge emotional toll it all took on his sister and him, but most importantly on his mother, who experienced it all firsthand.

This sad thing happened August 20, 2018On that day, in January, the brothers were travelling abroad, and the couple had been staying at home. Their father was a 70-year-old man, in good health, even though he had typical ailments of old age – José recalled – his varicose veins had ruptured and started bleeding.

According to information obtained by this newspaper, this was not the first time such a thing happened to him, but this time his wife was alone at home and had no financial resources and was unable to control the bleeding. 30 minutes without results As she tried to stop the bleeding, she called emergency services for medical assistance and told them her husband was taking anticoagulants. The operator gave her some instructions on how to act and warned her that the medical team was busy and there would be delays.

Half an hour later, the bleeding did not stop, on the contrary, the patient did not stop bleeding. The ambulance still did not arrive, and the lady nervously did Second emergency callThe operator informed the coordinator of what had happened and repeated the same guidelines given to him earlier, but this time no other resources were activated except for the pending announced ambulance.

An hour after the first call, the worried woman called 061 again for help. This was the third time. She told the person on the other end of the line that her husband’s condition was getting worse, he felt dizzy and there was “a pool of blood” on the floor. This time, because the medical team was still busy, it was decided to send a vehicle with a driver, but No health staff.

Before the first ambulance arrives, the woman has the opportunity to contact Emergency again. Fourth call. This time, already in great pain, she explains to them that her husband is still bleeding heavily, has lost consciousness and does not respond to stimuli. A few minutes later, the medical car driver will inform his colleagues at headquarters that the patient is unconscious and he will not be able to transport him alone. That is the moment you choose to request the appearance of the 061 emergency team.

Overweight patients

After that, the patient was treated at home and the firefighters were notified to help transport him, because he was a little overweight, so it was difficult to evacuate him. Three hours after the first call, the man was taken to the hospital. Shock hemorrhageShortly after being hospitalized, he died due to hemodynamic instability, coagulopathy, and renal failure.

It was a “very sad” incident and one “where action could have been taken”. Work harder”, commented on the matter, the family’s legal representative, Ignacio Martínez, a lawyer from the Association’s Legal Services, which is handling the case.

The Patient Ombudsman highlighted, among other issues, that the ambulance arrived at the home without a doctor and by the time it was transferred to Jane’s University Hospital, an hour and a quarter had passed, “at least Three hoursThe association slammed the “emergency services for acting in breach of their regulations and in a completely negligent manner” by not sending a proper ambulance, even though they insisted one was available from the outset.