999 operator rapped over fatal error

10:00am Thursday 2nd February 2012 in News by Jennifer Bell , jennifer.bell@thepress.co.uk

THE grieving brother of a York man said he was “shocked” and “angry” after the 999 operator who failed to send him an ambulance avoided being struck off.

Retired hotel manager John Barker, of Acomb, rang 999 in severe pain, but Yorkshire Ambulance Service nurse Alan Thomas Haugh overrode a computer system which would have triggered an immediate response by paramedics.

instead, Mr Haugh, a father of three, told the 65-year-old that his condition did not appear life-threatening, and classed him as a Category C patient rather than Category a.

but Mr Barker was found dead the next day from severe pancreatitis.

a Nursing and Midwifery Council tribunal this week heard it was the latest in a series of blunders.

The hearing yesterday issued a five-year caution but did not strike off Mr Haugh, meaning he can continue practising as a nurse.

Mr Barker’s brother, Richard, called the decision “lenient”. He said: “My initial feeling is one of anger.

“I am shocked that the picture has been painted of a man who has learned from his mistakes and posed no continuing risk to patients and the public.

“It was very clear that he was not fit to practise and he admitted that. I am not sure the decision is adequate, and it has been harrowing to hear that there was a sequence of cases and there was no intervention sooner in getting him out of the control room.”

Had Mr Barker been classed as a Category a patient, an ambulance would have been dispatched.

Mr Barker had outlined his history of heart pain, but Mr Haugh phoned him back and told him to see his doctor and take painkillers.

it was one of four errors between 2005 and 2007 by Mr Haugh, who is in his early 40s and from York, and who now works at Moorlands Care Home in Strensall.

all four saw him overlooking crucial critical symptoms and choosing not to send an ambulance when patients called.

at the tribunal, Mr Haugh, who previously worked for Full Sutton Prison and York Hospital, apologised for letting down the patients’ families. He said the role was not suited to his skills.

He had previously been disciplined after ignoring computer system prompts and failing to send ambulances to a caller who he assumed was hungover when he had actually suffered a skull fracture, to a young girl who burst a Persil liquid capsule over her face and to a woman with abdominal problems who he decided had back trouble. Mr Haugh also admitted speaking to a member of Mr Barker’s family in an unprofessional manner when his actions were challenged.

He said he was better suited to “one-to-one” nursing, and said; “I feel I can be a good nurse again.”

Moorlands manager Helen Lewis told the tribunal Mr Haugh was “confident and experienced”, liked and respected by staff, and would be missed if he was struck off. Christie Brown, representing Mr Haugh, said: “He is somebody who has learned from his mistakes and I submit he is still an asset to the profession.”

Mr Barker’s brother said: “Some of the things said about the way YAS was operating at the time were shocking, but nothing excused him as a professional who did not give the right level of care.

“The family has been left for a long time for the case to come to a consequence, and I think if it had happened immediately after the 2005-2007 period, Haugh would have been struck off and it would have been the right decision.”

The tribunal found Mr Haugh’s fitness to practise was impaired due to malpractice.

Panel member Michael Cann said he failed to uphold YAS’s reputation and provide the duty of care expected of him.

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I've heard a nurse talk about this…it causes certain muscle problems and other issues such as an increase in mucus and frequent dehydration.

I can't find any data on this, however. Has anyone had this experience?

Just curious. no questions, just answer mine.

Go to webmd.com and research it there! : )

The nurse is right. she has the experience and knowledge. For further reading though, you can check out the site below, wc has a summary of the symptoms and when they might be detected.

hope that helps

check this website out

medicinenet.com/crohns_diseas…

About one month ago, I fell in my backyard and hit the back of my head. Since then, I feel dizzy when I hold my head up for too long, begin sweating in the evening and tire easily. I have had an MRI and EEG. What could possibly be wrong?

One of the best place you can contact either on the phone or by Internet, is: askanurse.com
In the website you will find the phone number to called them is if you wish to contact them in person.
"Ask a Nurse" is one the most grown place for medical problem to help around the world and it is free. they have help thousand and thousand of people, they can help you too.

You will talk to a nurse, not just anyone.
God bless you!

WebMD is where I usually go, but if you describe head symptoms that won't go away, the website will tell you to go to your doctor as soon as you can make an appointment. In my experince, it will not advise you as to what you have, only whether or not it may be serious enough to warrant going to the doctor, or even the emergency room.

Well, if nothing came up on your MRI (EEG only has to do with heart beat), then I would go to a neurologist.
But whatever you do, pls dont self-diagnose. just suck up the copay and go to a medical professional.

I've used the site listed below…with medical costs rising, I try to figure out what it is before I go to the doctor. Hope this helps you, but I would definitely get a second opinion on your injury. Head injuries are nothing to play around with. the dizziness could be caused from liquid in the inner ear. the sweating could be "hot flashes". good luck and let us know what you ultimately find out.

I have tried telling my parents that the "attacks" happen mostly when I exercise and I still have breathing difficulties and chest tightness even after I have stopped exercising, but they keep claiming that it is normal.

if you're not overweight then you're probably right – it isn't normal to be experiencing chest tightness during/after exercising.
visit your doctor if your parents won't listen and go with someone you trust. if not, why not try a nurse a school (assuming your still at school) and explain what your feeling. It's better to know and get the right medication than wait for something horrible to happen (touch wood)
in the mean time, don't over work your body. if you get another attack, then sit down, calm yourself and try drinking small sips of water. I find that if you lie down, it makes it a teeny bit worse.
Hopefully you don't have asthma. good luck x

Exercise induced asthma is a real possibility. get your parents to take you to the doctor so he can write you a note for school and get you an inhaler. get them to take you to the doctor for a different reason – physical for school, birth control pills, make up something…

Go straight to a doctor / free clinic (if you're in the US), or talk to someone at your school who might be able to help you see a doctor despite your parents not wanting to take you, ie. a guidance counselor or a teacher that you think might be able to give you some advice.

id go with "iv had normal exercising breathing difficulties and what not but when i get one of these attacks its much worse, like im trying to breath though one of those coffee straws, and i know that much isn't normal"

you could:
-tell your teacher about it
-visit a doctor with your friends
-tell you parents again and stress on the negative impacts of it

Visit the doctor yourself.
then ask the doctor to tell your parent.

it is. the more you exercise the better it will get

Hi, my nurse told me the other day that boys can produce more hormones and symptoms than baby girls. What do you think?

My doc said the same thing to me and predicted I was having a boy because I was in the hospital 3 times before ten weeks because of severe morning sickness…
Im having a boy! and yes everyone Iknow who had a boy said they were miserable during their pregnancies and with their girls, none. Of course occasionally it was a little different, but there is always room for that in statistics…In my opinion (and my doctors), boys make you MISERABLE DURING PREGNANCY!!

a girl i know had a girl with few symptoms and then a boy and had really bad morning sickness.

i had a girl and had very few symptoms and no morning sickness. i'm pregnant again and seems very much like the first pregnancy…so maybe another girl for me?!?! i'll be happy either way!
one of my other friends is pregnant with her second boy and had tons of symptoms both times.

well so far i am 8 weeks with baby number two and i have started getting really queasy, lightheaded this past week, nauseas at times, With my son i only had morning sickness maybe 5 times, other than that he was a breeze so i think it just depends.

nope!! i had load of morning sickness, sore boobs and cravings with my daughter and nothing with my son

every1 i know tends to get more heartburn with boys………….but more sickness with girls

Hmmm…I've always heard opposite. Regardless, I had horrible 24/7 morning sickness with my boy so I'm not sure.

I've just been to the doctors because i'm coughing up phlegm, waking up in the night in a cold sweat & feeling generally feverish & run down.
He examined my chest & said it sounded all good & healthy.
However, 2 years ago I worked with a child who had severe Tuberculosis. so the doctor said he would consult a specialist TB nurse & let me know what she recommends.
Are there any medical people on here tonight who know anything about TB, and do you think i'm wasting their time when the doctor has said my chest seems fine? thank you.

Go back and ask for a chest Xray.

Better safe than sorry. I think you should get checked out.

I may have gallstones, to be confirmed with a scan.I have had severe burning in my stomach, vomiting and retching lasting 24 hours.

I am left with a very painful stomach, feeling very bruised especially on the right. at the start, I also had a burning under my right shoulder.
Have you had an operation to remove the gallbladder?
I would love to hear from you if you have suffered this please!

I'm a nurse in a surgeon's office. we schedule people for gallbladder surgery all the time. Your symptoms sound pretty typical. An ultrasound or a hepatobiliary scan can confirm the presence of gallstones. however, you may not have any stones, but instead have a gallbladder that doesn't work well. again the hepatobiliary (Pipida) scan can find that out.
Surgery is actually pretty simple. Nowadays it is done laparoscopically 95% of the time. The surgeon makes 3-4 very small incisions on your abdomen to put in a camera to see what he is doing and instruments to remove the gallbladder. The incisions are closed with steri-strips (tape). most of the time no stitches or staples are needed to close the wounds.
The surgery is usually done outpatient. You will come into the hospital or surgery center in the morning, get surgery done and if all goes well, you will go home the same day. Our doctors tell patients that they can expect to resume normal activity in about 1 week. But some people do that a lot sooner.
If you find out it is not your gallbladder, you may need to have a scope done to see if you have an ulcer or gastritis (inflammation of the esophagus and stomach).

I've never had a choley (short for choleycystectomy), my sister did, but what did you want to know about it? I can tell you.

And as far as your question about symptoms, yes, other people with choleycystitis experience these symptoms.

So the short story is… I broke up w/ my boyfriend of 7 years in June, also moved out of my parents house (lived w/ them for 25 yrs) into an apartment, had major changes at work (promotion, new manager, staff turnover…) so that was all in the last 3 months and during all of that i messed up my birth control pills about 4 times – i probably had my period every other week this summer. So I started becoming lethargic (most likely from the constant loss of blood) and my mother, who's a nurse, had me start taking vitamin c and iron because the doctor said i was most likely anemic due to acute blood loss. well the vitamins have helped with the energy- but my skin has been very bothersome the past couple months. I get what looks like ingrown hairs everywhere – my arms, legs, breasts. they dont seem to heal well, and just seem to fill with fluid. I also have yellowish/brownish marks show up on the skin that feel like they're filled with fluid also – not raised off the skin like a pimple, more flat. also in various areas i have what feels like fluid filled lumps under the skin – and the skin feels like it's hardening or thickening above it. this is occuring on my collar bone, in front and behind my ears, my upper back along the spine/shoulder blade, lower back, lower legs around knees – around joints i guess! sometimes these areas also feel like something is crackling under the skin if i press on it. oh this is also happening along/under my jaw and my cheeks. and my eyes have seemed swollen as well. I've stopping taking my pill all together now – so I'm hoping these symptoms are due to major hormonal changes these past few months??

You need to consult a dermatologist ASAP…these symptoms are very odd, and most likely not related to hormonal changes–they may be indications of something a lot more serious. Please go see a doctor for this.

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beautynskincaretips.blogspot.com/
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I had a call from a lady this morning from a health clinic saying that when I went on holiday in another country, the person that I was sitting near on the plane had Tuberculosis and that I would need to be checked for it. This was back in January but I have no idea of the symptoms or if it can lay dormant in the body for a certain amount of time as that is what the nurse said to me? I am a little worried but want to know the chances that I have it… can you help?