Meg Fozzard suffered a brain injury after an eight-minute defibrillator delay during her cardiac arrest
A woman left disabled for life when paramedics ‘pressed the wrong button’ on a defibrillator during a cardiac arrest has received an undisclosed pay-out after suing the NHS. Meg Fozzard has been left with permanent disabilities as a result of her brain being starved of oxygen after ambulance crews delayed a life‐saving electric shock by eight crucial minutes because they failed to use a defibrillator properly.
Meg, who was just 26 at the time, collapsed at her home in Walworth, South London, struggling to breathe and fitting as she went into cardiac arrest in April 2019. Her terrified partner Xander Font Freide dialled 999 and was told to start CPR immediately.
But when ambulance crews finally arrived – after struggling to find the flat – they didn’t believe Meg was in cardiac arrest, despite warnings from the emergency call handler minutes earlier.
A defibrillator showed Meg had a deadly heart rhythm that needed an instant shock. But because paramedics had attached the wrong equipment – monitoring leads instead of defibrillation pads – the device failed to alert them that that shock was needed.
Even then, crews pressed the wrong button on the machine, known as a LifePak, delaying its emergency mode for another four minutes. There was an eight-minute delay before Meg was given an electric shock to her heart, London Ambulance Service NHS Trust has since admitted.
Meg, who suffered a brain injury after being starved of oxygen as a consequence of her cardiac arrest, now struggles with her speech, fatigue and requires the use of a wheelchair. She has now received an undisclosed settlement from the ambulance service which has admitted breaches in their duty of care.
Meg, now 33, said: “It’s almost impossible to find the words to describe the physical and emotional impact of trying to come to terms with what happened. At first I had no idea but as the severity of my brain injury became more apparent the realisation started to sink in.”
She added: “That moment of being in hospital and realising my life was never going to be the same was tough, I really struggled with that. Before my injury, I’d hop on a train or even fly across the world and visit friends but that all changed. I’d gone from being independent to being reliant on others. I even struggled to tell people what I needed because of my speech.”
Meg’s cardiac arrest happened as a result of an undiagnosed, underlying heart condition. She does not remember waking up in hospital and was unable to work for 14 months.
Meg still additionally experiences symptoms including brain fog, lack of dexterity and involuntary spasms in her limbs. But as a result of payments secured by lawyers, she was able to get the support of a speech and language therapist, a physiotherapist and an occupational therapist.
Against the odds, she can now stand for up to an hour, her speech and cognitive abilities have improved and she has returned to work part-time as a freelance producer with a focus on disability rights.
Meg added: “I do aerial sports now, I’m learning to swim again. It’s been amazing because I thought these were things I’d never be able to do again. I know I’ve a long way to go but I finally feel like I’m getting back to being the person I was before. However, I’ll always be upset at the care I received when I was in desperate need so it’s vital action is taking to improve patient safety for others.”
Recalling the moment he found Meg struggling to breathe back in 2019, Xander, aged 32, a coordinator for a charity, said: “I was sat at my computer and I heard Megan making a strange gasping, croaky noise, then her complexion started changing rapidly. She became extremely pale. Meg’s eyes were open but she wasn’t responding to me talking to her. I knew something was terribly wrong with Meg, potentially life-threateningly wrong.”
Xander continued: “I was on the phone to a 999 call operator who was talking me through performing CPR until the ambulance crews arrived. When they arrived I was just hoping they’d help Meg but everything seemed confused and chaotic. When Meg got to hospital she was under very heavy sedation and I was told that they were keeping Meg cool and keeping an eye on brain swelling from the trauma.”
He added: “It was an incredibly difficult time for everyone and we were desperately hoping Meg would pull through. I continue to be amazed by Meg and the bravery and determination she has shown to start reclaiming her life.”
Leena Savjani, the specialist medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell representing Meg, said: “The last few years and coming to terms with the life-changing repercussions of Meg’s cardiac arrest have been incredibly difficult for her and her loved ones. Following investigations incredibly worrying and basic failings have been admitted in Meg’s care.”
She continued: “While Meg has made tremendous progress in her recovery through access to rehab, she still faces many challenges. Nothing can make up for what she’s been through but this settlement allows Meg to focus on her future and importantly means she will have access to specialist life-time support she requires to make the best recovery possible.”
Leena added: “However, it’s vital that lessons are learned to improve patient safety for others. Every second counts when trying to resuscitate someone suffering a cardiac arrest.”
London Ambulance Service say LifePaks are specialist machines used by medical professionals, which monitors vital signs and well as providing defibrillator capabilities. They are different to automated-external defibrillators or public-access defibrillators which require no training.
The service’s Chief Medical Officer Dr Fenella Wrigley said: “On behalf of London Ambulance Service, I sincerely apologise that the care provided to Ms Fozzard that day in 2019 did not meet the standard we expect. In the weeks following this 999 call, we conducted a thorough review to learn the lessons that led to Ms Fozzard’s defibrillation being delayed. The learnings from the review were all implemented at the time and our ways of working have been changed.”
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