Bromsgrove man whose wife died after taking an overdose said she 'was let down by the system' - The Bromsgrove Standard

Bromsgrove man whose wife died after taking an overdose said she 'was let down by the system'

Bromsgrove Editorial 22nd Feb, 2018 Updated: 22nd Feb, 2018   0

A BROMSGROVE man has slammed the Government over the death of his wife which he said was caused by insufficient NHS funding.

Charford resident Paul Tulk spoke about Nicola who died on January 8 after taking an overdose four days before.

She had suffered for the last eight years with Parkinson’s Disease which, after beginning with a bilateral tremor affecting her hands, spread to her legs and caused aphasia (loss of memory).

“Sometimes she would wake up after a nap and forget who I was, forget we were married or forget where she lived.




“She sometimes asked about our cat Bandit who had died five years ago or where the seagulls were as she had grown up by the sea in Barry.”

Because of her condition, the deterioration of her spine and Type 2 diabetes which Paul said had been caused by the combination of drugs she had been given, Nicola was in pain and could only walk short distances.


On January 5 Nicola took the overdose, locking herself in the bathroom. Because she had her back to the door Paul did not want to try to force it as he feared the impact on her deteriorating spine could have crippled her.

He called the police and an ambulance and he said, while the police arrived promptly, an ambulance did not arrive for more than an hour.

Nicola was rushed to Alexandra Hospital where she was on a trolley in a corridor for two to three hours.

Paul said when she was seen, medics flushed out as much of the drugs as they could but two days later, in the early hours of January 6, Paul received a call to say his wife’s condition had deteriorated. She was in a coma and had suffered two cardiac arrests, attributed to the overdose.

Nicola was an organ donor and once her organs had been taken her life support was switched off and she passed away on January 8.

Paul told The Standard: “I am not criticising the NHS staff, they were all absolutely golden – from the paramedics who came to the staff at the Alex.

“They all did the best they could with the resources they had.

“My wife has been let down by the system.”

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said an initial 999 call was received at 2.17pm.

“The call was triaged and fell into the third of four response categories, which in line with nationally set targets by NHS England required an ambulance response within two hours.

“An ambulance arrived on scene at 3.24pm, well within the two-hour target.

“After receiving treatment at the scene, the patient was then transported to the Alexandra Hospital for further assessment.

“On arrival at hospital, staff were made aware of the patient’s condition.

“The ambulance crew continued to monitor the patient’s condition until they were able to handover at 5.52pm.”

A spokesperson for Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust said: “We would like to express our deepest condolences to Mr Tulk for the loss of his wife.

“If he has any concerns about the care provided for her in our hospital we would encourage him to contact us so that we can discuss them with him.”

Nicola’s funeral took place at Redditch Crematorium last Tuesday and her death is currently being investigated by the Worcestershire Coroner.

An inquest has been scheduled for May.

Mr Tulk has also asked questions about the £29million funding boost promised for Worcestershire’s hospitals.

The cash was first talked about back in 2016 when the trust requested it and it was confirmed in July last year.

He told The Standard: “Our MPs Sajid Javid and Rachel Maclean both promised this £29million extra for Worcestershire’s hospitals but where is it?

“They need to put their money where their mouth is.

“Even if they put in £29million it is still only a small amount compared to what has been cut in real terms.”

Redditch MP Rachel Maclean said: “The £29million capital funding, the first tranche of money, has been approved by the Department of Health (£3million to fund work to improve patient flow at the Worcestershire Royal Hospital, and ultimately across the whole Trust).

“It was discussed at a meeting last Friday and the final business case that will enable access to the majority of funding is due to be submitted in the next few weeks.

“This is a significant amount of public money and due process has to be completed before the money can be spent.”

Mr Javid declined to comment on the cash at this time.

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