Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

Back to news
news
Casualty
Man who rushed into hospital to get help for dying cyclist was told to dial 999broken bike.jpg

Man who rushed into hospital to get help for dying cyclist was told to dial 999

Musician Nick Wilsdon sustained fatal head injuries after he crashed outside Bristol Royal Infirmary
by Simon_MacMichael
Fri, Jun 09, 2017 16:25
20

A man who ran into a hospital to get help for a cyclist who had suffered fatal head injuries when he crashed outside has said he was told to call 999 because no doctors were available.

Nick Wilsdon, aged 44, lost control of his bike on Upper Maudlin Street outside Bristol Royal Infirmary and crashed into a van travelling in the opposite direction according to eyewitness Marc Banting, reports the Bristol Post.

http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/motorist-told-phone-999-r...

The incident which happened on Thursday 1 June was witnessed by Marc Banting, 43, who went to Mr Wilsdon’s help but realised he should not move him since it was clear he had sustained serious head injuries.

Instead, he rushed into the hospital to summon assistance for the stricken cyclist, only to be told he needed to call 999.

"I ran into the BRI and asked them to send a doctor out, but they refused.

"They said the doctors were all busy in A&E and they couldn't just call one out of there, and to call 999 as it would be quicker.

"I told them there was a man dying in the street and they were not interested and reiterated to call 999.

"We had to call for an ambulance which took its time as it was rush hour – it was easily 15 minutes, but it felt like an eternity."

But a spokesperson for University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust insisted that the advice given to Mr Banting was correct.

"We advise everyone to call 999 if an accident has taken place,” they said.

"This is to ensure that patients are treated safely by professionals with the right training and essential equipment to do so before they are brought to hospital.

"Releasing staff from our A&E may also put patients already in our care at risk."

Mr Banting also recounted details of the fatal crash. He said: “It was horrific. At that point, Upper Maudlin Street is four lanes wide, he was in the middle of the four lanes.

“The road was busy and traffic was not moving that fast heading [downhill] towards the Bear Pit, but it was faster coming in the opposite direction.

“The cyclist appeared to lose control of his bike and fell sideways into the white van, and his head made contact with the passing van.”

He added: “The van slowed down as if it was going to stop, but then carried on its way up St Michael's Hill.

“It is possible the van driver did not know the cyclist had hit him as it was on the side not head on.”

Mr Wilsdon died in hospital from his injuries several days after the crash.

A musician, he played fiddle with Bristol-based folk band Calico Jack and had also worked as a music therapist in Palestine and with people in Bristol suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

His family said he was a "wonderful, talented, much-loved man" and that he had “an enormous group of friends all over the world who were always glad to see him.

"He was at base an intellectual who loved to explore ideas but was also a talented musician,” they added.

"His family Jo, Colin, Toby, Sophie and his partner Margarita miss him deeply."

 

Simon MacMichael

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

Add new comment

20 comments

Avatar
ktache | 7 years ago
0 likes

This should have been about saving a man's life.  An ambulance should have been called, but at the same time a request could have been put out to ask if any medical staff could have been spared.  There could have been trained medical staff on a break, who would have been willing to provide assistance while waiting for the paramedics to get there.

Avatar
don simon fbpe replied to ktache | 7 years ago
0 likes

ktache wrote:

This should have been about saving a man's life.  An ambulance should have been called, but at the same time a request could have been put out to ask if any medical staff could have been spared.  There could have been trained medical staff on a break, who would have been willing to provide assistance while waiting for the paramedics to get there.

Tut! There are procedures to follow (and probably admistration to do too...).

Avatar
Leanto1961 | 7 years ago
2 likes

Mr Nick Wilsdon, may you rest in peace. 

Avatar
BehindTheBikesheds | 7 years ago
0 likes

Ambulances in London generally locate themselves in areas that are known to be blackspots so this cuts down arrival time as much as is possible.

Suprised that there is no statement from police/newspaper about helmet and hi-vis.

Avatar
Carton | 7 years ago
1 like

I'm just going to leave this here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QereR0CViMY

Avatar
Mungecrundle | 7 years ago
0 likes

I'll be interested to read from someone who can state that they are involved in first line response, but Pedro Pedallo has covered the bases from what I remember of my First Responder training.

Dialling 999 or 112 will get you through to a medically trained operator who will dispatch the nearest properly equiped response unit and can talk you through basic life support procedures until help arrives.

If he had been asked by a first aider at the scene to go to the hospital for a defibrillator to treat a non breathing casualty lying just outside their doors and had been told to go do one, then I think he would have cause for complaint.

 

Avatar
hawkinspeter replied to Mungecrundle | 7 years ago
2 likes

Mungecrundle wrote:

If he had been asked by a first aider at the scene to go to the hospital for a defibrillator to treat a non breathing casualty lying just outside their doors and had been told to go do one, then I think he would have cause for complaint.

Looking at the photo, the incident was pretty much right outside their doors.

Also, from the BristolPost article, the ambulance took about 15 minutes to arrive due to the heavy traffic, so it looks like they didn't have available ambulances at the BRI.

I can understand that they didn't have any available doctors, but you'd have thought they would have at least one paramedic around.

Avatar
steve58 replied to hawkinspeter | 7 years ago
1 like

hawkinspeter wrote:

Mungecrundle wrote:

If he had been asked by a first aider at the scene to go to the hospital for a defibrillator to treat a non breathing casualty lying just outside their doors and had been told to go do one, then I think he would have cause for complaint.

Looking at the photo, the incident was pretty much right outside their doors.

Also, from the BristolPost article, the ambulance took about 15 minutes to arrive due to the heavy traffic, so it looks like they didn't have available ambulances at the BRI.

I can understand that they didn't have any available doctors, but you'd have thought they would have at least one paramedic around.

Paramedics are assigned to ambulances which are not stationed at hospitals, but at ambulance stations separate from hospitals.

If anyone here has taken any notice of NHS news items in the last 5 yrs they might have noticed there are a shortage of ambulance staff, entirely due to the appalling working conditions.

Therefore you can be assured they are NO Paramedics just sitting around in hospital A&E's on the off chance a member of the public drops in requiring assistance.

In London they work 95% of all shifts without any rest/meal breaks whatsoever, because of call volume. 

Not anecdotal but my own experience.

Avatar
brooksby replied to hawkinspeter | 7 years ago
1 like

hawkinspeter wrote:

Mungecrundle wrote:

If he had been asked by a first aider at the scene to go to the hospital for a defibrillator to treat a non breathing casualty lying just outside their doors and had been told to go do one, then I think he would have cause for complaint.

Looking at the photo, the incident was pretty much right outside their doors.

Also, from the BristolPost article, the ambulance took about 15 minutes to arrive due to the heavy traffic, so it looks like they didn't have available ambulances at the BRI.

I can understand that they didn't have any available doctors, but you'd have thought they would have at least one paramedic around.

My wife was driving past, just after it happened (she thinks): white van shielding the cyclist from the motor traffic, and one person standing over them. No traffic queue had built up at that point. And, it was *right* outside the hospital: one or two lanes of traffic and then thirty feet of pavement.

Avatar
Awavey | 7 years ago
5 likes

if road.cc had read the comments on the Telegraph article that this seems a lift and shift from, theyd have been able to add the detail where someone at least purporting to be the same Mr Banting as in the article, said he went to get help from the hospital on the say so of the non trauma doctor in the street after theyd already called for an ambulance 2 or 3 times.

Avatar
Pedro Pedallo | 7 years ago
7 likes

This is definitely the right course of action from the hospital. Most hospitals follow this procedure for any accident outside the doors of the hospital. There are three main reasons for this: one is response time - it will take longer for the crash team to get there when assembling from all over the hospital (on foot) than it would for an ambulance to get there which is parked right outside the hospital. Second is equipment - the crash team don't carry everything they need with them, they rely on it being on the wards, it obviously isn't available in the middle of the road, but it is available on an ambulance. Lastly is procedure. Having clear steps and protocols to follow is one of the most effective ways to ensure the right treatment is given quickly and the crash team's protocols are all built around an in hospital resus type procedure, not an RTA outside. Paramedics are much better prepared to deal with that.

Avatar
Internet Pawn replied to Pedro Pedallo | 7 years ago
12 likes

Pedro Pedallo wrote:

This is definitely the right course of action from the hospital. Most hospitals follow this procedure for any accident outside the doors of the hospital.

Yet on Westminster Bridge the hospital staff rushed to help the victims outside and won high praise for their actions.  

Avatar
don simon fbpe replied to Pedro Pedallo | 7 years ago
7 likes

Pedro Pedallo wrote:

This is definitely the right course of action from the hospital. Most hospitals follow this procedure for any accident outside the doors of the hospital. There are three main reasons for this: one is response time - it will take longer for the crash team to get there when assembling from all over the hospital (on foot) than it would for an ambulance to get there which is parked right outside the hospital. Second is equipment - the crash team don't carry everything they need with them, they rely on it being on the wards, it obviously isn't available in the middle of the road, but it is available on an ambulance. Lastly is procedure. Having clear steps and protocols to follow is one of the most effective ways to ensure the right treatment is given quickly and the crash team's protocols are all built around an in hospital resus type procedure, not an RTA outside. Paramedics are much better prepared to deal with that.

May I be bold enough to suggest that the procedure is wrong then? Only following instructions is nothing more than a cop out.

Avatar
steve58 replied to don simon fbpe | 7 years ago
1 like

don simon wrote:

Pedro Pedallo wrote:

This is definitely the right course of action from the hospital. Most hospitals follow this procedure for any accident outside the doors of the hospital. There are three main reasons for this: one is response time - it will take longer for the crash team to get there when assembling from all over the hospital (on foot) than it would for an ambulance to get there which is parked right outside the hospital. Second is equipment - the crash team don't carry everything they need with them, they rely on it being on the wards, it obviously isn't available in the middle of the road, but it is available on an ambulance. Lastly is procedure. Having clear steps and protocols to follow is one of the most effective ways to ensure the right treatment is given quickly and the crash team's protocols are all built around an in hospital resus type procedure, not an RTA outside. Paramedics are much better prepared to deal with that.

May I be bold enough to suggest that the procedure is wrong then? Only following instructions is nothing more than a cop out.

Bold?..yes..but ill-informed.

1. In an accident like this the patient needs to be properly immobilized using cervical collar, head blocks, spinal board, possibly other splints. This equipment is held on an ambulance and not standard in hospitals. In our age of litigation no trained person would attempt to move the patient without this equipment.

2. Hospitals tend to specialise....this patient would almost certainly need to go to a "trauma centre". That  would be ascertained by the ambulance paramedic and taken to the nearest trauma centre with available resources to deal with. To take the patient into a hospital that is a non-trauma centre would mean he would have to be subsequently transferred for the best treatment which could easily add at least 1-2 hr delay.

It might seem the best course of action to get a patient to any nearest hospital....but in practice this is not the case.

 

Avatar
don simon fbpe replied to steve58 | 7 years ago
1 like

steve58 wrote:

don simon wrote:

Pedro Pedallo wrote:

This is definitely the right course of action from the hospital. Most hospitals follow this procedure for any accident outside the doors of the hospital. There are three main reasons for this: one is response time - it will take longer for the crash team to get there when assembling from all over the hospital (on foot) than it would for an ambulance to get there which is parked right outside the hospital. Second is equipment - the crash team don't carry everything they need with them, they rely on it being on the wards, it obviously isn't available in the middle of the road, but it is available on an ambulance. Lastly is procedure. Having clear steps and protocols to follow is one of the most effective ways to ensure the right treatment is given quickly and the crash team's protocols are all built around an in hospital resus type procedure, not an RTA outside. Paramedics are much better prepared to deal with that.

May I be bold enough to suggest that the procedure is wrong then? Only following instructions is nothing more than a cop out.

Bold?..yes..but ill-informed.

1. In an accident like this the patient needs to be properly immobilized using cervical collar, head blocks, spinal board, possibly other splints. This equipment is held on an ambulance and not standard in hospitals. In our age of litigation no trained person would attempt to move the patient without this equipment.

2. Hospitals tend to specialise....this patient would almost certainly need to go to a "trauma centre". That  would be ascertained by the ambulance paramedic and taken to the nearest trauma centre with available resources to deal with. To take the patient into a hospital that is a non-trauma centre would mean he would have to be subsequently transferred for the best treatment which could easily add at least 1-2 hr delay.

It might seem the best course of action to get a patient to any nearest hospital....but in practice this is not the case.

 

They didn't even send a trained medical expert to even look at him to determine whether a cervical collar, head block, spinal board, or possibly other splints were even needed!

All because of some arse about face procedure.

I appreciate that resourcees are tight, but to hide behind procedure to justify inaction is a load of bollocks!

Avatar
steve58 replied to don simon fbpe | 7 years ago
0 likes

don simon wrote:

steve58 wrote:

don simon wrote:

Pedro Pedallo wrote:

This is definitely the right course of action from the hospital. Most hospitals follow this procedure for any accident outside the doors of the hospital. There are three main reasons for this: one is response time - it will take longer for the crash team to get there when assembling from all over the hospital (on foot) than it would for an ambulance to get there which is parked right outside the hospital. Second is equipment - the crash team don't carry everything they need with them, they rely on it being on the wards, it obviously isn't available in the middle of the road, but it is available on an ambulance. Lastly is procedure. Having clear steps and protocols to follow is one of the most effective ways to ensure the right treatment is given quickly and the crash team's protocols are all built around an in hospital resus type procedure, not an RTA outside. Paramedics are much better prepared to deal with that.

May I be bold enough to suggest that the procedure is wrong then? Only following instructions is nothing more than a cop out.

Bold?..yes..but ill-informed.

1. In an accident like this the patient needs to be properly immobilized using cervical collar, head blocks, spinal board, possibly other splints. This equipment is held on an ambulance and not standard in hospitals. In our age of litigation no trained person would attempt to move the patient without this equipment.

2. Hospitals tend to specialise....this patient would almost certainly need to go to a "trauma centre". That  would be ascertained by the ambulance paramedic and taken to the nearest trauma centre with available resources to deal with. To take the patient into a hospital that is a non-trauma centre would mean he would have to be subsequently transferred for the best treatment which could easily add at least 1-2 hr delay.

It might seem the best course of action to get a patient to any nearest hospital....but in practice this is not the case.

 

They didn't even send a trained medical expert to even look at him to determine whether a cervical collar, head block, spinal board, or possibly other splints were even needed!

All because of some arse about face procedure.

I appreciate that resourcees are tight, but to hide behind procedure to justify inaction is a load of bollocks!

Well....as x-ray specs only exist in fiction, these immobilisation procedures are ALWAYS used to err on the side of safety if certain criteria are met. In this instance, an RTC involving a bicycle vs van, clinical guidelines automatically necessitate this equipment is used. I'll hazard a guess that it's something to do with the patients spinal cord, that each of us only have the one of them, it's kind of nice to have and that regen tanks are still some way off.

Avatar
hawkinspeter replied to Pedro Pedallo | 7 years ago
2 likes

Pedro Pedallo wrote:

This is definitely the right course of action from the hospital. Most hospitals follow this procedure for any accident outside the doors of the hospital. There are three main reasons for this: one is response time - it will take longer for the crash team to get there when assembling from all over the hospital (on foot) than it would for an ambulance to get there which is parked right outside the hospital. Second is equipment - the crash team don't carry everything they need with them, they rely on it being on the wards, it obviously isn't available in the middle of the road, but it is available on an ambulance. Lastly is procedure. Having clear steps and protocols to follow is one of the most effective ways to ensure the right treatment is given quickly and the crash team's protocols are all built around an in hospital resus type procedure, not an RTA outside. Paramedics are much better prepared to deal with that.

I'm not sure I agree with that, though the speed of response is probably the critical feature - especially with a head injury. The accident was only a minute walk from the hospital (which is the main A&E for Bristol as far as I know) so I would have thought it would be quicker to not use an ambulance as the traffic is heavy on that road.

Avatar
Yorkshire wallet | 7 years ago
6 likes

FFS, worst example of "computer says no" I've ever read about. Maybe I should have voted for Corbyn

Avatar
Valbrona | 7 years ago
0 likes

Of course he should have phoned the emergency services. Not sure what he was expecting the receptionist at the  clap clinic to do.

Avatar
brooksby replied to Valbrona | 7 years ago
8 likes

Valbrona wrote:

Of course he should have phoned the emergency services. Not sure what he was expecting the receptionist at the  clap clinic to do.

Erm... Why *wouldn't* he expect the reception at the main entrance to a hospital which has an A&E department to help? I certainly would.

Latest Comments