'Everything he loved in his life has been taken away': Daughter of stroke victim hits out at ambulance waiting times
26 October 2022, 16:15
The daughter of a man from South Wales who suffered a stroke has told LBC she believes his condition is much worse because of the delay in getting an ambulance to him.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
It comes as the Welsh Conservatives plan to hold a debate in the Senedd, calling for the priority of ambulance responses to suspected stroke suffers to be raised to the highest level.
Gareth Hale was a keen hiker and linguist who had run marathons and spoke four languages fluently.
After retiring from a career in the police, he became an English teacher and set up his own business.
Now in his mid-60s, he can hardly speak or walk unaided.
In April of last year Mr Hale collapsed at home having suffered a stroke.
A neighbour called 999 and rapid response car arrived at his home, but when an ambulance wasn't able to attend the scene, he was driven to hospital by the first responder.
His daughter Lisa had to move back to South Wales from London to help care for her dad.
Ms Hale said: "Everything he loved in his life has been taken away from him.
"Music, walking, languages. These are the things he lived for and now he has none of them because he couldn't get an ambulance on time.
"If he could have chosen, he wouldn't have chosen this for himself.
"A stroke is life changing and, it might sound brutal but, death would be easier in a lot of cases."
In Wales, suspected stroke patients are placed in the amber priority category. In 2015, 5% of those calls were answered after the target time.
However, in August of this year, that figure is now 59%.
It's prompted calls by some politicians to put strokes in the red category – putting it in the same bands as heart attacks and other immediate life threatening conditions.
But the Stroke Association say they are "comfortable" with the current categorisation of suspected patients, believing an ambulance is the best possible vehicle to help them.
Raising the priority to red would mean a first responder car could be the first vehicle on scene of an incident.
Speaking exclusively to LBC, Welsh Conservative MS for North Wales Mark Isherwood said: "I think it's quite chilling that people like the Stroke Association are effectively forced to make a choice between life-threatening longer responses with an ambulance and quicker responses."
We shared Lisa and Gareth's story with the head of the Welsh Ambulance Service, Jason Killens, who admits waiting times are not where they should be and has apologised to the Hale family.
Mr Killens said: "It is deeply frustrating for our clinicians to not be able to do the job they joined for and that is to respond quickly and to provide great care.
"I feel sad, I feel frustrated and I'm sorry."
In response a Welsh Government spokesperson said: "The Welsh ambulance service keeps the prioritisation of calls under ongoing review to ensure patients continue to receive the most appropriate response, based on the latest clinical guidance."
"While the initial ambulance response is a key part of ensuring a good patient outcome, the speed of access to specialist treatment is essential.
"We will continue to work with health boards, the Welsh ambulance service and partners to ensure there is rapid access to specialist services as well as reduced delays from the time a patient arrives at hospital."
