The widow of a dad who died of a head injury at an ‘off grid’ hutters’ camp said she doesn’t blame the 999 call handler who failed to send an ambulance.
Dad-of-three Brian O’Neill, 59, was pronounced dead the morning after a fall at the Carbeth Hutters Community, in Stirlingshire, in June 2020.
A judge this week awarded his family £500,000 in damages in a case against the Scottish Ambulance Service, determining that there were links between failures on the part of a service employee and Mr O’Neill’s death.
Mr O’Neill’s widow Lynda said: “I don’t blame the employee. She said she hadn’t had the right training and she obviously didn’t or she wouldn’t have made that mistake.
“We’re just glad that there will be lessons learned and it might help other people.
“We’re devastated. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever been through. Brian and I were together all my life.”
The family of Mr O’Neill raised an action against the Scottish Ambulance Service Board at the Court of Session in Edinburgh, which was contested.
The court heard that Mr O’Neill, who previously suffered a stroke and was prescribed anti-platelet medication, was drinking with a group at one of the huts before he fell and hit his head.
Dr Leanne Rae, who was also visiting the huts, went to see if she could help the injured dad.
Dr Rae looked at the wound and told Mr O’Neill she needed to call for assistance as it was still bleeding.
An initial 999 call was made and a call handler categorised it as requiring further triage and remote consultation. Trainee advanced paramedic practitioner Elaine Noden then called back and spoke to Dr Rae, but no ambulance was sent to transport Mr O’Neill to hospital.
The court previously heard how he was found the following morning on the floor and had died by 10.17am, despite attempts involving Rae to resuscitate him.
Lord Young said in his judgement: “I conclude that Ms Noden failed in a number of duties incumbent upon her. She failed to carry out a comprehensive triage assessment of Mr O’Neill.”
“She failed to advise Dr Rae or Mr O’Neill that his presentation raised red flags which indicated that a hospital assessment was required that evening.
“She failed to send an ambulance despite knowing that alternative transport to hospital had not been arranged.”
In the judgement issued on Tuesday, Lord Young said Ms Noden herself said that she had received no training by the time of the incident on how to deal with triaging a patient who is being attended by a medically qualified bystander.
He said unchallenged evidence of a medical consultant had revealed that if Mr O’Neill had been assessed at hospital, “basic wound repairs would have resulted in the head laceration being sutured or stitched and he would not have suffered the loss of blood which led to his death”.
He said the ambulance service had sought to “elide their own responsibility by claiming that Dr Rae had voluntarily assumed responsibility for Brian O’Neill’s care that evening”, saying Dr Rae “should be commended for everything she sought to do that evening and the next morning” for Mr O’Neill.
Wife Lynda previously described her husband as “a loving, kind man” who had been loved by all who knew him”, saying his death had been an “enormous loss” to his family and friends.
Kirsty Baldassara, O’Neill’s eldest child, described her father as “kind, loving, fun” and “deeply adored”, saying the nature of his death, was “devastating to us as a family”.
A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesman said: “We would once again like to express our sincere condolences to the O’Neill family. We are very sorry for their loss.
“We are limited in what we can say but will be carefully considering today’s judgement opinion and any implications for the Service.”
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