A WOMAN is angry with paramedics after they failed to spot her husband had suffered a stroke despite three visits.

Seventy-one-year-old Fred Dowson, of Glenmere Park Avenue, Thundersley, was visited three times by paramedics following a minor stroke, but was diagnosed with a balance disorder.

Eventually his wife Yvonne, 70, called for a fourth diagnosis from a doctor, who said Mr Dowson should be taken straight to hospital, where a CT scan revealed he had suffered a small stroke.

He has made a full recovery since the experience earlier this year, but the pair remain deeply concerned about the slow response.

Mrs Dowson said: “Paramedics are not doctors and should not be allowed to decide if a patient is ill enough for hospital treatment.

“If the first paramedics had taken him into hospital, it would have saved him a terrible lot of suffering.”

Mr Dowson suffered the stroke at Southend Magistrates’ Court, where he is a clerk.

He said: “I just suddenly came over all dizzy and I was vomiting everywhere.”

An ambulance was called, but paramedics decided he had a virus and he was taken home. Mr Dowson remained bed-ridden, feeling dizzy and unable to eat or tolerate bright lights.

Still worried, his wife called 999 the next day. A paramedic was sent, who diagnosed him with labyrinthitis – a balance disorder affecting the inner ear. Another paramedic gave the same diagnosis the following day.

Four days later and about 168 hours after suffering the original stroke, Mrs Dowson called for a doctor who referred him straight to Southend Hospital where the real cause of his illness was discovered.

Joy Hale, a spokeswoman for Essex Ambulance Service, said: “We would welcome the opportunity to speak with Mr Dowson’s wife about her concerns. Clearly, if she feels there were discrepancies in his treatment, these need to be looked into.”

Mr Dowson’s case has been revealed days after Braintree widow Isabelle Wingrove received a six-figure sum from the NHS because her 47-year-old husband, Jeffrey, died when his stroke was missed by medics on three separate occasions.