Tragedy as young Midlothian father of three dies after 13-hour wait for hospital treatment
The family of a much-loved Midlothian dad whose spleen ruptured during an agonising 13-hour wait to be seen at A&E believe his life could have been saved if he had been treated earlier.
Dylan Jones, ‘a dedicated father’ and ‘big part of the community’ in Loanhead, was born with Jeune Syndrome - a rare genetic condition that affected his liver, spleen, and kidneys.
The 28-year-old was taken to Edinburgh’s Royal Infirmary on December 10 after experiencing severe pain in his side. After waiting two hours for an ambulance, the father of three was then forced to wait another 13 hours on a bed in a corridor before he received treatment – precious time which, his family said, could have been used to save his life.
Dylan died on December 20, with his cause of death having been recorded as liver failure, spleen rupture and Jeune Syndrome. NHS Lothian said a full review is now underway.
Dylan’s cousin, Billielea Porter, said: “When he was in the hospital he knew something was wrong, and he told his mum he’d never had this pain before. He was really scared.
“Because of Dylan’s health condition it should have been treated as an emergency situation. Maybe staff either didn’t understand how Jeune Syndrome works but Dylan’s mum couldn’t have stressed this any more to them. They told her to be quiet and said ‘we’re really busy and you’ll just have to wait.’”
According to Billielea, it was during the agonising 13-hour wait to be seen that Dylan’s spleen had ruptured leading to internal bleeding.
”That’s when he was rushed in for surgery. He actually died twice on the surgery table but doctors managed to get him back and put him on a life support machine.,” she said.
“Then he was taken upstairs to the ICU where surgeons worked to stop the bleeding. He was placed on a breathing machine and was given blood transfusions to stabilise him.
“He stayed stable for a day but then he started to decline and doctors said it was because his liver was failing. And over 10 days his body just starting to shut down. That’s when doctors told us there was nothing more they could do.
“It just doesn’t feel right. I feel like if he didn't have to wait the 13 hours and doctors had seen that Dylan had a small bleed, then they could have saved his life instead of waiting until his spleen had ruptured.”
The fiber engineer, who turned 28 in October, was a father to two sons and one daughter aged seven, six, and 18 months.
Billielea said: “The kids are absolutely devastated. It's a really hard time for them because they don’t really understand death. They keep saying that they miss their dad. Their mum is telling them they can tell their daddy a message when they look at the moon or a star because he can see that star too.”
Dylan’s family have launched a fundraiser to help cover funeral costs and support his young family. A celebration of his life will take place on January 15.
Billielea said: “We would like to have a remembrance area for Dylan, it would be a nice place for his children to visit when they’re older. It would be somewhere where they can talk to their dad because it would feel like there is a part of him still here. So if we raise enough money that’s something we would like to do.”
You can donate to the Dylan Jones memorial fundraiser by visiting the gofundme website.
‘Excessively long waits are not acceptable’
Health Secretary Neil Gray said: “I would like to express my heartfelt condolences to the family of Dylan Jones at this unimaginably difficult time. I would also like to make clear that it is not acceptable that Mr Jones waited so long in A&E.
"Excessively long waits are not acceptable and I apologise to all patients who are waiting too long.
“We are determined to do more and we want everyone to receive the best possible care and treatment. We are working closely with NHS Boards to improve patient flow, reduce waiting times for emergency care and diagnostic tests and ensure they have the support needed to manage peaks in demand this winter.”
Dr Tracey Gillies, medical director at NHS Lothian, said: “We extend our deepest condolences to the family of Mr Jones and we apologise to them for the length of time it took to provide a bed in a specialist ward after he arrived in A&E.
“Mr Jones, who had a long standing and serious illness, was clinically assessed, treated and monitored overnight in the A&E department until a bed in the specialist ward became available the next day.
“Sadly, Mr Jones suffered a ruptured splenic artery aneurysm the next day and died 10 days later. There is no evidence at the moment that the delay to obtaining a bed delayed specialist care or had an impact on the sad outcome. A full review is underway and we will discuss directly with the family.”
Scottish Labour health spokesperson Jackie Baillie said: “This heartbreaking case shows us the true cost of the crisis in our NHS and my thoughts are with Dylan’s family. It is a scandal that young parents are losing their lives while waiting for emergency healthcare on the SNP’s watch and its devastating for their family.
“While John Swinney and Neil Gray insist things are going well in our NHS, in our hospitals Scots are still paying the price for SNP failure. This complacent SNP government has made it clear it cannot fix the problems in our NHS and cannot be trusted with a third decade in charge. Scots need an NHS that they can rely on and a government committed to delivering that.”