A Perth man was left lying on the pavement for 40 minutes after an ambulance failed to arrive following a major seizure that saw him black out.
Bartosz Maroszek (35) was walking along the Crieff Road in the early evening of October 4 having just picked up his prescription from the Asda pharmacy when the trauma occurred.
Bystanders rushed to the side of the former coffin-maker, with one placing him in the recovery position and another making a call for an ambulance.
However, one failed to turn up by the time Bartosz - who is six weeks into his recovery from major six-hour brain tumour surgery - regained consciousness, after which a second 999 call was made.
However, the operator informed them that no ambulances were available and a friend, luckily at the scene at the time, had to drive Bartosz to Perth Royal Infirmary’s accident and emergency department.
The Scottish Ambulance Service has since apologised to Bartosz.
He said: “For more than 10 minutes I was out.
“I remember walking up from Asda and I lost consciousness [from an aura seizure].
“I had an eye witness from the studio nearby and she was the first on the scene to put me in the recovery position.
“Then another person stopped who happened to be a friend of mine and she phoned for an ambulance.
“Once I regained consciousness I was told what happened and told them to phone again and I gave them my CHI number, the hospital number, because I am six weeks after major brain surgery.
“After the first call they said to keep me still so I was lying on the pavement for about 40 minutes overall and they never came.
“After the second call they said they had no available ambulances and suggested someone to take me to PRI by themselves.”
Bartosz added: “Even the nurses were wondering ‘how did you not get an ambulance?’ It is a good question.
“I had a CT scan and fortunately it was okay. They kept me in overnight.
“What could have caused it was stress maybe.
“How am I supposed to avoid stress if this happens again and an ambulance never comes?”
Bartosz’s life-changing diagnosis came after his first major seizure in July – which he says was so severe he “nearly bit my tongue off”.
He was rushed to hospital after being found on the floor by a former flatmate.
“I had CT and MRI [scans] and a couple of days later they confirmed it was a brain tumour and what grade it was,” he explained.
Bartosz was diagnosed with an incurable grade two glioma tumour.
Gliomas start in glial cells, which are the supporting cells of the brain and the spinal cord.
They can cause aura seizures which can affect someone’s thoughts, senses, or awareness and can even lead to hallucinations and losing consciousness.
Bartosz continued: “I had brain surgery on August 29 and the tumour was partially removed.
“Part of it grew into my brain vessels. The biopsy results came back and it is not curable but is treatable.
“I was told after my first seizure that if my seizure lasts longer than five minutes anyone should phone an ambulance – but it hasn’t worked out like that.”
Not only is Bartosz on medication but he began a 28-day course of radiotherapy at Ninewells Hospital this week to try to reduce the tumour’s effects.
It could then lead to chemotherapy following an assessment.
Bartosz says his condition means he can no longer work and is “too anxious” to leave his home after his Crieff Road ordeal.
“It has not been easy,” he said.
“My parents had to come over from Poland as before I stayed on my own. But I need to have someone with me 24/7 just in case.
“I have got my wristband saying I am epileptic just in case something happens.”
Bartosz also paid a heartfelt thank you to the bystanders who helped him during his seizure.
He told the PA: “Thank you to the people for staying with me and who helped me.
“And for the people who gave me something to put under my head or my back to keep the cold away.
“And thank you to the person who drove me to the hospital as well.
“So many people in Perth have helped me with fundraising and donations I can’t thank them enough.”
In response, a Scottish Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “To ensure that emergency ambulances are available to respond to the most serious and life-threatening cases in the first instance, we operate a priority-based system of dispatch, where a coded response level is applied in response to information provided by the caller.
“This is so we can accurately identify patients with immediately life-threatening conditions, such as cardiac arrest.
“On Tuesday, October 4, we were experiencing an increase in demand in the area.
“We will always try to get to patients as soon as we can but on this occasion, the caller advised they would take the patient to hospital.
“We’d like to apologise for the delay and we hope the patient is recovering well.”
