A man unable to breathe due to coronavirus was refused treatment by paramedics and left slumped over a garden fence, his family have said.
Derek Stewart from Cardonald died more than a month after being admitted to hospital.
His devastated family have spoken out after an investigation into the incident was launched and have said the way he was treated right up to his cremation was ‘inhumane’.
The 57-year-old believed he had caught the virus while working as a driver for Renfrewshire Cabs.
The much-loved dad and granddad decided to stop working after taking a customer who had a cough as he felt his life was at risk.
But just a week later, he was bedridden with a fever and unable to breathe.
A doctor advised Derek to go to the Community Assessment Centre in Maryhill to be tested but while waiting to be transported there, his condition deteriorated and wife Maureen, who works as a nurse, phoned an ambulance.
A white van arrived at the house to take Derek to the centre shortly before an ambulance also arrived on the scene.
His sister Caroleanne Stewart said her brother was ‘slumped over a fence’ in the garden and ‘going blue’ when paramedics ordered both Derek and Maureen to stay away from the vehicle and instead get into the van.
Caroleanne explained: “His wife was shouting that she was a nurse and that he needed oxygen but the ambulance staff told her to back off. They stayed inside the ambulance and told him to go in the van instead. They didn’t even examine him.
“He was visibly unwell, slumped over and looked like he was having a heart attack. All the neighbours were out and Maureen was screaming that he needed help. They didn’t listen. They just drove off.”
The last time Derek’s daughter Ashley saw her dad was when he was loaded into the back of an unmarked white van and taken away.
Caroleanne said her brother was ‘terrified’ during the ordeal.
As soon as he arrived at the assessment centre, another ambulance was called to take him to the hospital where he was taken to the high-dependency unit. He was later moved into intensive care where he remained on ventilation for 17-days.
He passed away on May 1 after doctors decided there wasn't anything else they could do to save him.
To make matters worse for the family, Derek’s possessions have been lost by the hospital with the health board instead offering a cheque to cover the loss.
Caroleanne said: “Money is immaterial to us. His family wanted to make a teddy bear with the clothes he was wearing that day, they can’t do that now.
“The whole thing has been horrendous. You’re not allowed to see them when they’re in the hospital and you can’t view them after they’ve gone.
“None of the crematorium staff would touch him, not even to put clothes on him. We couldn’t get a fingerprint off him and he was wheeled into the crematorium in a steel trolley. After it was over, they told us we had to take all our flowers home.
“The whole scenario is just shocking. They’re treated like they’ve got the plague - it’s inhumane."
Derek was described as a family man who doted on his daughter and two grandchildren Leo and Lola.
"He was a popular guy," Caroleanne said. "He liked playing darts with his friends but he didn't go out much because he was always working. He was quite a quiet guy but he lived for his daughter and two grandkids.
“I was going out clapping every Thursday for the NHS because my sister-in-law is a nurse but after that, I've not clapped again since. I can’t bring myself to do it.
“I can’t believe they drove away and left a 57-year-old man blue and didn’t even get out to check on him.
"They didn’t give him the duty of care that he needed. It’s disgusting.”
A spokesperson for Scottish Ambulance Service said: "We would like to offer our deepest condolences to the family and apologise for any distress caused. We are taking this matter extremely seriously and are investigating thoroughly.
"So far we have found that the ambulance staff did not refuse to take the patient to hospital and we will explain our full findings to the family in due course.”
A spokesperson for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: "Our condolences to the family who have lost a loved one. We’re looking into the matter of lost belongings and we are keen to support them at this difficult time."
