Dad died in Broomfield Hospital ‘left rolling around like dog’

A dad who died after collapsing in a crowded A&E waiting room was left “like a dog rolling around on the floor”, his son has claimed.

Thomas Casey, 34, died after what his family said was a suspected heart attack at Broomfield Hospital in Essex on Friday.

Chelmsford MP Marie Goldman has since written to the hospital demanding answers about the incident, which she branded “deeply distressing”.

NHS Mid and South Essex is investigating the care Casey received and has invited his family to meet with its senior leadership.

Casey’s son, also called Thomas, alleged it was obvious his dad was suffering from a cardiovascular issue when he presented at hospital.

He said his father was handed painkillers and told to wait, despite his pleas for help, claiming that he warned hospital staff “you’re going to kill him”.

Thomas Jr said his father was lying on the floor in “agonising, groaning pain in front of everybody”.

“I asked for a screen to be put up in the hospital for his dignity because he was a very proud man,” he said.

“But the doctor looked at me and said, ‘Tell [the other patients] to look the other way then’.”

Thomas Jr added: “They didn’t care about him. They left him like a dog rolling around on the floor. It was inhumane.”

He said he realised that his father had suddenly gone quiet.

“[I will never forget] the gruesome sight of my father on the floor, blue in the face with white froth dripping from his mouth,” Thomas Jr told the BBC.

The 19-year-old said CPR was then administered by medical staff on the waiting room floor, before his father was moved through double-doors next to the waiting room, where he was declared dead soon afterwards.

Casey said his father had gone to Basildon Hospital the day before with similar symptoms but, faced with a seven-hour wait, he went home.

The bricklayer grew up in Tottenham, north London, and had links to Billericay in Essex.

His son described him as a “mini humanitarian” who would always help others.

Thomas Jr believed hospital staff discriminated against them because they were from the traveller community.

“I can’t believe my father is dead. The destruction this has brought on our family is incomprehensible,” he added.

In her letter to hospital chief executive Dawn Scrafield, Liberal Democrat MP Goldman said people had written to her about the “tragedy”.

“Given the severity of this incident, there is understandable concern about what immediate action is being taken to protect patients,” she wrote.

Goldman urged the hospital to consider a formal investigation into Casey’s death.

Christine Blanshard, chief medical officer at Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Our condolences go out to the patient’s family.

“We will be investigating the care he received and inviting his family to meet with us and discuss their concerns.”