Evening Standard/London
A woman died stuck in the back of an ambulance after its tail lift broke outside an accident and emergency department.
Sophia Bhanji, 39, who was diabetic, was taken to Northwick Park Hospital in Harrow with symptoms of hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar.
But the ambulance crew was unable to transfer her into the hospital when the trolley bed on which she was being treated could not be lowered out of the vehicle.
Hospital doctors, including a resuscitation team, fought for almost an hour in the back of the ambulance to save Bhanji, from Wembley, when she went into suspected
cardiac arrest. She was pronounced dead at about 4am last Wednesday. Bhanji’s grieving family are believed not to have been informed of the details of the incident
before being contacted by the Standard.
A family friend said: 'They had their suspicions something was wrong, because she was being treated in the ambulance for a long time… Now they know there was a fault
with the ambulance and they will want to know how this could have affected the treatment she received. The uncertainty will add to their grief as they will want to know if she could have been saved.'
Bhanji’s sister Rehanna, 34, wrote on Facebook: “I lost a part of my heart and life. Sophia Bhanji passed away. My big sister gone in heaven. You are an angel I miss you so much.'
Today, the London Ambulance Service said an investigation was under way. It was unable to explain why Bhanji was not carried out of the ambulance. The five-year-old
Mercedes Sprinter, normally stationed at the North Kensington ambulance station, has been taken out of service. Last month the LAS board was warned of “ongoing
pressures' caused by an 'ageing fleet', which has seen its repair bill soar more than £800,000 over budget since April. The vehicles are maintained by in-house mechanics.
An LAS source said:'I’m shocked and saddened but in a way I’m surprised this hasn’t happened before. The equipment we are having to use is in a terrible state of repair.'
A LAS spokeswoman said: “We are aware that there was an issue with the tail lift and we are looking into the circumstances of what happened.”
London North West Healthcare NHS Trust, which runs Northwick Park, declined to comment, saying it was a matter for LAS as the patient had not been transferred into its care.
