By Liz Fowler

THE FAMILY of a young Mearns father of two who died an agonising death after doctors failed to attend him are suing the NHS 24 helpline service for £750,000 damages.

Laurencekirk joiner Steven Wiseman died of septic shock in December 2004, aged 30. He had been repeatedly told by bungling NHS 24 staff his symptoms sounded like flu and he should take a couple of painkillers.

At one point he had to crawl from his sickbed to answer questions over the phone.

He was writhing in agony, with his skin turning black and blue and was slipping into unconsciousness before he was finally rushed by ambulance to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary where a medical team was unable to resuscitate him.

His fiancee Kerry Robertson, mother of their two young daughters, had called NHS 24 three times in three days desperately pleading for help for him.

Last night she said she is suing NHS 24 for £700,000 for her daughters, Nicole and Adele, now aged 10 and seven and the suffering caused by his death.

Tragic Steven’s mother Linda Thorpe, who lives in Montrose and had raced to her son’s bedside as the crisis unfolded, is suing the service for £50,000.

It is thought to be the first time legal action has been taken against the NHS 24 service.

“This is not just about the money, though it is going to help the girls,” said Miss Robertson (30), who has had to continue working shifts at the local supermarket to make ends meet.

“But we have never had an apology from NHS 24 or any admission of fault from NHS 24 and that still makes me so angry.

“It seems they don’t want to make an apology because they think they haven’t done anything wrong. But I phoned for help three times and couldn’t get anywhere.

“We had to watch Steven die and two years on the nightmare of that is still with us.

“It still upsets the girls a great deal that they have lost their dad, especially Nicole. Little things can bring it all back, like mention of daddies at school or hymns in the church and mention of heaven.

“I have decided to fight because I feel it’s the only way to force these people to take some responsibility.”

Steven’s mother added, “I am sorry it’s had to go to court this way but as far as I am concerned they have taken my son away and they should have to pay for it.

“The day the fatal accident judgment was issued I was told by the NHS 24 clinical director we would never get an apology, which was like a real slap in the face. They can’t be allowed to get away with this.”

Lawyer Christine McCrossan said, “No explanation or apology has been no explanation forthcoming.

“There was obviously an investigation into the circumstances. The NHS has been reluctant to acknowledge any responsibility.

“The claim was intimated a year ago but they still delay the matter. This needs to be brought to a conclusion without the family having to wait forever.”

The NHS 24 service was heavily criticised over the deaths of Mr Wiseman and Aberdeen teenager Shomi Miah after a rare double fatal accident inquiry last year.

Miss Miah (17) was also told by nurse advisers to take paracetamol for flu-like symptoms but later died from meningitis.

The tragic deaths were blamed on delays in getting treatment.

Sheriff James Tierney attributed the cause to a lack of staff training and incompetence.

In his written judgment, the sheriff said, “Nurse advisors felt they were discouraged from involving doctors during out-of-hours periods and there was a belief among some that doctors might re-triage calls to avoid an out-of-hours visit.”

He said if an ambulance had been called on both occasions both patients would “almost certainly” be alive today.

The bungling service was also criticised for its lack of clear guidelines and instructions issued to nurse advisers.

NHS 24 bosses claim a number of changes have been made to the service since the deaths of the two patients.

Feedback between NHS 24 nurse advisors and other healthcare professionals is also being made easier in an attempt to improve patient care.

NHS 24 chiefs last night confirmed there had been correspondence with Miss Robertson’s legal team but refused to comment further.