Search for
Search for
Search forGloucester dad hit by Legionnaire's
08:15 - 24-July-2008
Dad-of-two Richard Salisbury, 42, of Bristol Road, is the second case of the disease to hit the county within a week.
On Thursday it was revealed that a patient at Cheltenham General Hospital had Legionnaires'.
Richard's wife Janette said he was vomiting, had diarrhoea and was losing consciousness as they waited for a doctor to come to their home.
Eventually she called an ambulance and yesterday they were told he had the potentially fatal disease.
Last night Richard was receiving treatment at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital.
Janette, 43, said: “On Friday Richard developed pains in his stomach and back and a doctor came and gave him painkillers.
“But he became worse on Saturday and by Sunday he had severe diarrhoea and vomiting and crippling pain. He became so weak he couldn't stand up.
“I called the out-of-hours doctors service on Sunday at about 5pm and after I described the symptoms they said they would send a doctor within two hours.”
By 9.30pm there was still no doctor so she called an ambulance as her mechanic husband drifted in and out of consciousness.
A doctor finally arrived at their home at about 10.35pm.
The Cheltenham case is not connected to Richard's diagnosis.
But the family are worried as Legionnaires' is more common in people whose immune systems are weak such as cancer patients.
Janette, a part-time shop assistant, has just recovered from cancer.
Mum to Adam, 17, and Josie, 11, she said: “I feel very angry with the out-of hours doctors service. They are doing all they can but the service is not good enough – it's a joke.”
A spokeswoman for Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust confirmed a patient is being treated at GRH with Legionnaires' disease.
“The patient was admitted to GRH with the disease which was contracted outside of the hospital,” she said.
Laurence Knight, from the Health Protection Agency, said they would be working with NHS colleagues and the local authority to try to establish the cause of the infection in Gloucester.
He said: “That routinely means going through a patient's recent travel movements and looking at any risk factors at the home. There is no evidence of any link between the two patients.”
Karl Henderson, deputy chief executive of Great Western Ambulance Service, which dispatches the mobile out of hours, said: “On the basis of information provided to the service at 5pm, this call was given a target time of six hours for a visit by a doctor. Unfortunately, the patient deteriorated in the interim and had to call 999 at 9.26pm. Our ambulance arrived four minutes.
“We're sorry for the distress experienced. We are investigating this incident so that any lessons can be learned.”
Free Delivery on orders over £45 Free Delivery on orders over £45.
No win, no fee. You've seen us on TV. Get back on your feet.
Request free prices for conservatory installation.
Email this story to a friend
Print this story
Comment on this story
Be the first reader to comment on this story.