A heartbroken wife said she is left with "unanswered questions" after her husband died without his family at his side in hospital at the height of the Covid pandemic.
Jacob Roche was described as a "very generous" dad of two, who worked in IT and also volunteered for Eastwood Town Juniors for 10 years before he died on December 13, 2020 at the Queen's Medical Centre.
Known by friends and family as Jake, the 48-year-old was moved to the intensive care unit half an hour before his death at 11.30pm that day. That came after previous hospital admissions, and his family say he faced a long wait in A and E each time.
On this occasion his wife said that he waited for nine hours before being admitted.
His wife June Roche and their two children Aaron, 16, and Rebecca, 12, were waiting at the reception when he passed away, having rushed to to the hospital after they were told that Jake had become unresponsive.
"I bundled up the children and I remember driving as fast as I dare in the pouring rain," the widow added.
"He was actually mid sentence when he died - he just stopped.
"Everyone was in tears - it was like someone turned off a light."
He had been answering a question from a nurse about his work when he passed away.
He died of a heart attack, the medical staff told Ms Roche.
While acknowledging the pressures faced by the medical staff, the now heartbroken widow still wonders if the long time waits in the A&E in "freezing cold" made his condition worse.
Mr Roche was first rushed to the hospital on August 14 in 2020, when it was found that he suffered a "double silent stroke" that affected his sight.
On December 1, they rushed to the A&E again where Mr Roche had to wait for about nine hours before being admitted to the acute stroke ward at the Queen's Medical Centre.
"I was not allowed to stay with him even though he was basically blind," the 50-year-old June says while remembering the frightening episode.
"It took them two days to discover that he had suffered from two massive heart attacks and three strokes - all silent.
"But they could not find it until they did an X-ray two days later and they found a big clot in his heart."
Mr Roche was then discharged on in the early hours of December 9 - with 23 per cent damage to his heart.
"I wish I had not taken him home to be fair," the widow added.
On December 11 at around 10.30 at night, the couple rushed to the hospital again, as this time Mr Roche had "clear heart attacks and pain attacks" symptoms.
"Again, I was told that I cannot stay with him - so I went and waited in the car park, wracking my brain thinking about what I could do to help him.
"And time ticked on - and he was not being seen."
It was not until when she went again to see her husband at 3.30am to discover that the hospital was "packed with patients" and ambulances were passing frequently in and out of the hospital.
Ms Roche added: "I am sure that anybody who saw that place that night would understand that wearing a mask, or keeping distance and doing the small things would really make a difference.
"You could see the desperation on those people's faces knowing that they might not be helped - they were scared."
However, she cannot help but wonder that Jake's fate might have been different if only he "was made comfortable".
"Having a chest infection, and sitting all night in a freezing cold reception would not have done him any good.
"He may have survived because he was only 48."
In total, Jake was taken to the hospital on three occasions - and every single time he had to wait for a number of hours in the A&E.
The last time he went to the hospital, his wife said that he waited for nine hours before being admitted. It is also understood that Jake had been set to undergo a surgery just days after he sadly died.
"That brings the question - if they had not discharged him, and if they would have done that operation - would he have survived now?
The heartbreak was shared by Jake's two children, who are still mourning their dad's loss.
At the time when he started to get ill in August, his 12-year-old daughter Rebecca was battling cancer after her family discovered a lump on her neck.
She was later diagnosed with follicular thyroid cancer in stage three and underwent two operations - all while her dad was in serious pain.
However, Ms Roche's big regret is that Jake only had an unattended cremation due to the Covid restrictions that were in place at the time.
She added: "He had an unattended cremation because we were following the rules.
"He sat in A&E alone because we were following the rules.
"And then of course, all of these revelations about the Prime Minister's parties with wine and cheese came out - it is just disgusting."
"We only did a memorial in June when the restrictions were lifted - we actually gave him a very special send off at Hall Park where he used to play his football - and he sent his ashes up to the edge of space."
Ms Roche has also confirmed that a formal complaint has been submitted to the medical trust that looked after Jake during his last days of life.
A Nottingham University Hospitals spokesperson said: “We offer our sincere condolences to Mrs Roche and her family.
“Mr Roche was triaged and assessed by a consultant within an hour of arriving in our Emergency Department on 11 December 2020. We regret that due to the ongoing winter pressures as well as the effects of Covid-19, Mr Roche experienced a long wait for admission.
“We are working to investigate the care received by Mr Roche and will share our findings with his family as soon as possible.”
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