Ipswich man waits 18 days for treatment after fall

Dale Huntley, from Ipswich, fell in his garden on August 11 and hit his back on the edge of some decking.

The 56-year-old was unable to get up and was in intense pain so his wife, Ann, called for an ambulance to come and see to him.

The East of England Ambulance Service has urged Mr Huntley to get in touch so a review can take place.

After the fall, Mr Huntley was told he suffered soft tissue damage and he didn't need an X-ray, despite his ankylosing spondylitis - a long-term condition in which the spine and other areas of the body become inflamed.

He then had days of not being able to lie down on his back and not being able to get out of bed, sometimes taking a couple of hours to move.

His family contacted doctors who prescribed him some medicine and raised concerns over his ankle, which was swollen.

Dale and Ann Huntley (Image: Submitted)

Mrs Huntley said: "He tried to carry on as best he could but his ankle was getting bigger and the pains in his ribs were getting worse."

On August 19, Mr Huntley had an X-ray done on his ankle which showed there were no breaks. His medication was also increased.

Mrs Huntley continued: "When we got him home, he started to deteriorate.

"He started to get numbness and tingling in the legs and the bottom of his feet didn't feel right and the pains were increased.

"He was doing everything the doctors told him to do. He was taking morphine, his legs were really uncomfortable."

The couple were told to call 111 as they were informed an ambulance would be sent back out to them to check on him again.

They took him to the hospital and the following morning, he underwent an X-ray and an MRI scan on his back.

It was only 18 days after the fall that Mr Huntley discovered he had fractured his spine and was admitted to hospital for treatment.

Mrs Huntley said: "This is when all hell broke loose.

"He had a fractured spine from back to front and a highly compressed spinal cord which had a bone piercing it.

"We were told he was moments away from being paralysed for life.

Dale Huntley in hospital (Image: Submitted)

"Within an hour of us getting his results, he was taken to surgery - that's how urgent it was.

"He had 18 days of suffering and pain when he could have had an X-ray immediately and they'd have found the problem.

"We were told that ambulance staff should, as a precautionary with a hit to the back, take anyone in.

"My husband deserves better than how he was treated.

"He was made to feel like he was making a fuss over nothing. He can't work for months now and it could have been so much worse had it not been found when it did. For someone else it could result in death."

Mrs Huntley has praised staff at Ipswich Hospital who are looking after Mr Huntley while he is being treated.

She continued: "He can move his legs but we don't know the sensitivity and what he has lost at the moment."

An East of England Ambulance Service spokesperson said: "We encourage Mr Huntley to contact our patient experience team so we can formally review this case.

"We are always keen to review incidents to see if anything could have been done differently with the information available at the time."