Patient 'turned away' claim probed

Ruth Mallalieu said her husband John was in a serious condition in hospital

Claims that a stroke victim was turned away from treatment at a Nottinghamshire hospital are being investigated by health bosses.

John Mallalieu, 89, was in an ambulance near King's Mill Hospital on 6 December when the crew was told there was no one to help him, his wife Ruth said.

Mrs Mallalieu said they were diverted to a unit in Nottingham, 14 miles away.

Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said it would investigate what happened.

'Terrible state'

Mrs Mallalieu said she was told that a consultant at King's Mill Hospital, in Sutton in Ashfield, would see Mr Mallalieu, as long as he got there by 17:00 GMT.

But the ambulance had to turn around and head to Nottingham City Hospital, she said.

Mrs Mallalieu said her husband was "in a terrible state" in intensive care in Nottingham City Hospital.

Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs King's Mill Hospital, said it would investigate what happened alongside East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS).

The trust said its stroke service is run from 08:00 on Monday to 18:00 GMT on a Friday night.

It added that it takes about one hour to treat a patient so the agreed cut off time for receiving new patients is 17:00 GMT on Friday afternoons.

Outside of these hours, the service is provided by the Nottingham stroke team at the region's stroke unit.

An East Midlands Ambulance Service spokesperson said: "Mrs Mallalieu had not contacted us to share her concerns.

"We will now contact her to confirm that we are carrying out an investigation to establish the facts and that we will provide her with full details of our findings."