‘My Canvey dad nearly died waiting 40 minutes for ambulance while having heart attack'

Leanne Wallace McQuade posted on social media about how the island needs a dedicated rapid response car, manned by a paramedic, to be available at all times.

She recalled: “My dad was having really bad chest pains, and he called an ambulance at 17.15 but unfortunately was told they are very busy and they would get one there as soon as they could.

“At 17.55 the ambulance arrived - 40 minutes to get to a man with chest pain with a history of a triple heart bypass and a femoral bypass.

“I cannot fault the paramedics who were amazing. Once checks were done they realised he was having a massive heart attack. With that they scooped him up in the ambulance and blue lighted it straight to Basildon Cardiac Centre.

“They whisked him straight into the Cath lab and put in two stents. He is still quite poorly. We have just got to wait and see how much of his heart was affected after a scan.

Leanne has shared the story to highlight how important it is to have rapid response vehicles on Canvey, as one could have been with him a lot quicker.

The East of England Ambulance Service is considering removing Canvey’s only rapid response car - the only paramedic vehicle tethered to the island next February.

Leanne added: “We really need this rapid response car to save people’s lives. My dad could have died waiting for help. He was just lucky. Please, please save this service for Canvey.”

Mick Allwood, of the voluntary Canvey Island First Responders, confirmed the service did not have anyone manning their separate community sponsored vehicle on Monday.

He said: “I think that it needs highlighting, for people to come forward and support the car by sharing their own personal experiences, but that’s not happening. That’s a shame, because they are getting away with it, they’re getting away with the fact that it’s not being publicised enough.”

A petition to save the vehicle has since more than 1,000 signatures. Visit http://bit.ly/2PCfT2d.