Edition 104
www.thecourier.es
Friday, February 15, 2013
HOSPITAL LOCKED ME IN SHACKLES Coma doc sues over asthma nightmare
THE Courier’s medical guru Dr Machi Mannu has denounced Torrevieja Hospital after suffering what he describes as ‘’the most terrifying experience of my life’’. His nightmare included finding himself in SHACKLES when he regained consciousness following a massive asthma attack in which he was induced into a coma for five days. Dr Mannu, who writes one of this newspaper’s most popular columns, is in the process of suing the hospital for civil and penal damages, claiming there is a fundamental flaw in its management policies – and that it is HOSTILE towards foreign residents. The doctor was rushed to the hospital’s A&E department in the back of his partner Simone’s car last month scarcely able to breathe. He claims he was…
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Dr Machi Mannu... five-day coma
INSIDE TODAY
Refused assistance by a porter in getting to a wheelchair as he struggled to remain conscious on his arrival;
Not given the vital drugs used in the management of a severe asthma attack during all the time he remained conscious;
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Horrified and petrified to find himself in shackles when he finally woke up – convincing him he had been kidnapped for removal of his organs and was going to be killed. In a lengthy statement submitted to the initial court hearing, Machi – the English-born son of a Nigerian chemistry professor – described his initial experience in the treatment room: “I was helped onto the treatment bed and a member of the nursing staff put a mask over my face,’’ he said. “Someone else came around and connected me to a monitoring device to check my vital signs (pulse rate, respiration, blood pres-
sure etc.). Many staff was hovering around, but none seemed to know what they were doing. I did not receive the vital drug injection of Aminophylline or its equivalent. I then fell unconscious.’’ Of his eventual return to consciousness, he recalled: “I was first aware of very intense pain in my back. I realised to my horror that I could not move any part of my body. “I realised that my hands and legs were shackled. I was terrified. I also realised that I was in a sort of medical establishment, but wondered what kind of medical establishment would have you shackled. I rationalised that the only reason I would be in a medical establishment and shackled was because I had been kidnapped for my organs to be
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