A London man says he feared he had been “left to die” after an ambulance was not sent despite him struggling to breathe, repeatedly collapsing and experiencing a heart rate of around 170 beats per minute. Ediz Mevlit, 51, became seriously unwell while travelling home from his job in the bus industry on the London Underground. He managed to reach home, but said his condition rapidly deteriorated as his heart began racing at up to 170bpm. Mevlit said he repeatedly collapsed and, at around 12.30am, managed to call 999 while struggling to breathe. He claims the call handler followed a series of scripted questions before he was told that his condition had not been assessed as requiring an emergency ambulance response. As Mevlit became increasingly confused and unwell, his wife took over the telephone call. However, he says an ambulance was still not dispatched. With his condition continuing to deteriorate, a close family friend was contacted and came to the house. Mevlit said he fainted again before his friend helped him from the floor and drove him to North Middlesex Hospital. On arrival at A&E, medical staff immediately took him into the resuscitation unit. Recalling the frightening episode, Mevlit said: “I remember someone saying, ‘It’s up to 200[bpm] and he’s going.’” He said large defibrillator pads were placed on his chest in preparation for an electrical shock as his body became numb. Mevlit spent around 12 hours in the resuscitation unit before remaining in hospital for a week as he recovered. He has since complained about the handling of his emergency call. According to Mevlit, the London Ambulance Service sent him an email on September 21 apologising that his experience had left him feeling dissatisfied. Mevlit believes the consequences could have been devastating had his family friend not been available to take him to hospital. The precise clinical assessment made during the 999 call, including why an ambulance was not dispatched, has not been detailed in the information available. UKNIP has approached the London Ambulance Service for further comment on the circumstances surrounding the call and its handling of Mevlit’s complaint.

Originally published by UKNIP.