Hospital battle over collapse dad

A FAMILY are demanding answers over what they say were hospital delays in diagnosing a dad-of-four who has been told to plan for life in a wheelchair.

- HELENA VESTY

Glen Urmson, 59, was fit and well when he suffered a sudden 'brain seizure' while at work on November 30 last year.

Glen, a Quantity Surveyor from Shaw, Oldham, began 'convulsing and collapsed on the floor, according to his family.

Colleagues called for an ambulance but Glen's heartbroken loved ones claim paramedics were driving around for 'five hours' as the Royal Oldham Hospital and other emergency departments in Greater Manchester were full.

Eventually, Glen was taken in at Fairfield General Hospital in Bury where doctors carried out tests. The medics could not pinpoint the cause of the seizure and sent Glen home, according to his wife Debbie, 58.

But within days, he was in 'so much pain that he couldn't walk, forcing the family to seek emergency help again. After 999 operators told Debbie there would be a seven-hour wait for an ambulance, she managed to get Glen into the car and took him to the Royal Oldham Hospital alone.