‘I begged the paramedic, but they left’: Husband of Filipino nurse, 50, who worked for NHS for 18 years tells how ambulance crew refused to take her to hospital… nine days before she died of coronavirus after he drove her himself
- Amor Padilla Gatinao was a nurse at St Charles Hospital in west London
- Her family believe her death from coronavirus was caused by lack of PPE
- She is the 44th hospital worker to have died from the Covid-19 virus
- Learn more about how to help people impacted by COVID
The husband of a Filipino nurse, 50, who worked for the NHS for 18 years has told how an ambulance crew refused to take her to hospital nine days before she died of coronavirus after he drove her himself.
Amor Padilla Gatinao, 50, who worked as a nurse at St Charles Hospital, Ladbroke Grove, West London, died after falling ill on Mother’s Day.
Her husband, Mario, said that he begged paramedics to take his wife but they refused.
Mr Padilla Gatinao thinks his wife caught the virus while working at the hospital in west London.
Mr Padilla Gatinao thinks his wife (pictured) caught the virus while working at the hospital in west London
He told Sky News, he said: ‘Our youngest child is 14 years old and it is so hard. The pain is unbearable.
‘I called the ambulance and they came to the house but refused to admit her to the hospital. They told her to take paracetamol. Her whole body was in pain. She couldn’t eat. She was diabetic and also had a heart condition.
‘I don’t know why the government did not do more to protect NHS workers, like my wife. She was neglected. My children’s lives will never be the same again.’
The widower says that the death has left him and his three children devastated. Her family suspect Mrs Padilla-Gatinao, who suffered from asthma, type-2 diabetes and hyperthyroidism, caught Covid-19 due to not having the right PPE.
Her 24-year-old daughter Allysa Gatinao said: ‘There is a shortage of PPE in hospitals. Matt Hancock can’t deny this as the evidence is there.’
Mrs Padilla Gatinao, who moved to the UK in 2002, first felt symptoms on March 22. She was put in an induced coma on March 30.
She is the 44th NHS worker and fifth Filipino nurseto die after contracting the illness, according to the website Nursing Notes.
A London ambulance spokesman told Sky News: ‘We sent an ambulance crew to the scene and treated a patient but did not take them to hospital. We are unaware of any further contact from that address. We would like to express our sympathy to the family at this very difficult time.’