Man to sue over ambulance delay

NST: GEORGE TOWN: A factory worker claims that his wife would be alive today had she received prompt medical treatment, and he blames a hospital’s ambulance service for the delay.
Ghafur Mohd Ibrahim said yesterday that his wife, Yusnita Abas, 31, complained of severe headache about noon on Oct 13 last year. She went to a private doctor.
"The doctor advised her to seek treatment at the general hospital and she promptly went to the Kepala Batas Hospital," he said.
"She was at the hospital at 1pm, but was not attended to until she lapsed into a semi-consciousness state around 6pm."
Ghafur said doctors later realised Yusnita was suffering from a ruptured blood vessel and ordered that she undergo a CT scan at the Seberang Jaya Hospital.
The doctors also told him that Yusnita would have to undergo emergency surgery at the Penang Hospital if the CT scan showed there was a blood clot in her brain.
"It was later confirmed that there was a blood clot, but the ambulance that had rushed my wife to the Seberang Jaya Hospital was unable to take her to the Penang Hospital.
"The driver said the ambulance was in a bad condition and he needed to take another one from the Kepala Batas Hospital, so we drove back."
However, Ghafur was in for another shock when they reached the hospital. They were told that all the ambulances were out of petrol.
"It was close to 10pm by the time the problem was sorted out, and they only managed to take my wife to the Penang Hospital about 10.45pm.
"My wife was pronounced brain dead by the time we arrived at the Penang Hospital.
Yusnita died two days later.
"The doctor told me my wife could have been saved had she been brought in for surgery earlier."
Ghafur said he wrote to the Kepala Batas Hospital director demanding an explanation, and the latter replied through a letter dated March 2.
In the letter, which was made available to the New Straits Times, Dr Mohamad Sabri Othman acknowledged the incident and expressed his condolences.
He informed Ghafur that the hospital had taken several administrative steps to ensure that a similar incident did not recur.
These included disciplinary action against some staff and more stringent monitoring of the log book for ambulances.
The officers in charge of ambulances at the hospital were also directed to ensure proper maintenance of the vehicles and ensure they were never out of petrol.
Ghafur said he was not satisfied with the explanation and planned to sue the hospital for damages.