Ava Stanley, a 63-year-old resident of Higham, Kent, raised alarm bells when she believed her life was in peril due to an alleged disregard for her heart condition by a nurse

during her stay at Medway Maritime Hospital in Gillingham.

Last month, Mrs. Stanley was admitted to the hospital for chest pains. She claimed that her heart's irregular rhythm, clearly visible on a heart monitor, was being ignored by the medical staff. Feeling her situation becoming dire, she resorted to calling 999 from her hospital bed in an attempt to compel the nurses to take immediate action.

Mrs. Stanley recounted her ordeal, stating, "I actually called 999 from my bed because I really thought that I was going to die and I might not make it." She further explained that her heart rhythm had become erratic, even dropping to zero at times, triggering the monitor's alarm. Shockingly, she alleged that the alarm was repeatedly disregarded by the nursing staff, despite it happening four times within a 40-minute timeframe.

Following her 999 call, Mrs. Stanley was transferred to the cardiac ward for additional assessments before being discharged just last week. However, she remains steadfast in her belief that the nurses should have exercised greater caution and refrained from silencing the monitor.

Jayne Black, Chief Executive at Medway NHS Foundation Trust, responded to the incident, saying, "We are very sorry if Ms. Stanley feels the standard of care given during her visit was not to the high level that we would expect and we apologize for any distress that may have been caused. Our senior nursing staff remain in close contact with Ms. Stanley, and we will be investigating any concerns that she raises, making sure to feed back the findings with her as soon as we can."

Mrs. Stanley is scheduled for a further meeting with the trust next month to address her concerns. Photo by Velela, Wikimedia commons.