As Wayne Parrott and his wife Catherine looked ahead to retirement, they wanted nothing more than to return to their native Northwest.
As Catherine’s family lived in Lancashire, the couple decided to move from Surrey to Goosnargh. But within a few months, disaster struck.
Wayne had died – and today Catherine has no doubt that he would still be here if they had stayed.
Lancashire is currently in the grip of a postcode lottery. The trust that runs Royal Preston Hospital has been commissioned by the NHS since 2021 to provide a regional stroke service seven days a week between 9am and 5pm, but has only recently been able to offer thrombectomies on weekends due to recruitment issues.
Although the end is in sight; With NHS bosses confirming in January that Preston will offer a weekend thrombectomy service from September this year, patients are still slipping through the gap. One of those patients was Wayne Parrott.
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Born in Stockport, Wayne was a fit and healthy mountain biker who loved the outdoors. The father-of-four had enjoyed a successful career at Royal Mail, as head of New Business Specialist Services, until he and Catherine reached their 60s and began planning their retirement.
“We were getting ready to retire and Wayne was considering resigning, and it seemed like the perfect time to move back north,” Catherine told LancsLive. “We moved to Goosnargh at the end of October 2023 and when Wayne dislocated his shoulder he was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation.”
Atrial fibrillation is a condition that causes an irregular and often rapid heartbeat. He was given beta blockers, but on the first day of taking the drugs he suffered a catastrophic stroke.
“It was Friday evening February 16 at 11.30pm and we had been at a dinner dance at Mitton Hall (near Clitheroe) so the ambulance took him to the Royal Blackburn Hospital,” Catherine said.
“He was completely paralyzed on one side. It was a massive stroke. The nurse said he was an ideal candidate for thrombectomy, but they couldn’t do that because it was a weekend.”
The next day, February 17, doctors told Catherine there was nothing more they could do for lifelong Man City fan Wayne. He died later that day at the age of 64.
A thrombectomy uses a specially designed device inserted through a catheter to pull or aspirate the clot and restore blood flow. If Wayne’s clot had been removed by the procedure, there is a good chance he would have survived.
Since September 2023, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the Royal Preston Hospital, has been operating a weekend thrombectomy service intermittently, with existing staff taking on additional shifts. However, due to staff availability, the service was not performed the weekend Wayne suffered a stroke.
However, since April this year the trust has suspended weekend thrombectomy cover until the team is able to provide a consistent service. A second angiogram theater is also being built in Preston.
“It shouldn’t have happened,” Catherine said. ‘How many more will die before the NHS postcode lottery ends in Lancashire?
“I know they said it will be on weekends from September onwards, but people are still dying. It’s horrible to say it, but if we had stayed in Surrey, where they do offer it, Wayne would probably still be alive.’
Catherine contacted LancsLive about her husband’s story after reading the case of Edna Moss who died at Rivington Park nursing home in Chorley in February last year. The 79-year-old suffered a stroke over the weekend and was therefore unable to undergo a thrombectomy.
Royal Preston Hospital is one of three in the North West; alongside Salford Royal and Walton in Liverpool to offer thrombectomies, but difficulties in recruiting and retaining the specialists needed to carry out the procedure are putting the service under enormous pressure nationally.
The lack of a seven-day out-of-hours service was highlighted last November following the death of 31-year-old Sarah Read from Burnley. Sarah died in August 2022 after missing the ‘deadline’ for the life-saving procedure.
Following the inquest, area coroner Chris Long released a report calling on NHS England to make changes. While Mr Long did not directly attribute Sarah’s death to the lack of available treatment after the 5pm cut-off, he warned that failure to address it could lead to more deaths.
In his response, Professor Sir Stephen Powis, national medical director of NHS England, expressed his “deep condolences to Sarah’s family and loved ones” and said: “NHS England would like to reassure the family and the coroner that concerns about Sarah’s care have been raised. It has been listened to and thought about.”
Prof Powis added: “For Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (LTH), prior to September 2023, mechanical thrombectomy was carried out Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm.
“Since September 2023 and following a successful recruitment campaign, the Trust has been able to increase the number of interventional radiologists so that the service can operate seven days a week, from 8am to 6pm.
“A further expansion plan is now ready, with the ambition to further expand the opening hours to seven days a week between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m. from April 2024 and to operate the service 24/7 from September 2024.
“My colleagues at Specialized Commissioning expect a business case from LTH to support this plan soon.
“In addition, construction work is currently underway to house a second biplane angiogram unit, which is expected to be completed in summer 2024. LTH is currently supported by Specialized Commissioning with their capital offer for this second biplane, which will also must be completed and supported by a successful recruitment campaign.
“There are several interdependencies to deliver the 24/7 thrombectomy service, and the North West Specialized Commissioning Team is supporting LTH to understand the risks and mitigations required. LTH has confirmed that they are committed to operating the 24/7 service by September 2024. “
Although Catherine has welcomed the improvement in local services, this does not diminish her sadness at the loss of her beloved husband. Hundreds of people made the journey to Lancashire to attend his funeral, with tributes describing him as a “top man and a true gentleman”.
“Why should we wait until September? I know the service is under pressure with recruitment, and I don’t blame the doctors involved, but something has to be done – and now,” Catherine added.
A spokesperson for Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “We have spoken and written to Mrs Walsh to express our sincere condolences on the death of her husband and to confirm that an investigation will take place. We remain committed to operating a weekend thrombectomy service once we have the sufficient specialist colleagues required to run it on a consistent and sustainable basis.”