A great-grandfather whose eight-hour wait on a hospital trolley highlighted Scotland's A&E bed shortage crisis has died at the age of 85. John McGarrity passed away on Friday after contracting pneumonia at a care home in Ruchill, Glasgow.
In January last year, the Daily Record reported how Mr McGarrity's ordeal in a cold corridor at the Western Infirmary due to a lack of beds shocked Scotland. The story prompted dozens of NHS staff and patients to come forward with accounts of ward chaos.
Health Secretary Alex Neil subsequently admitted A&E wards were under severe strain and announced a £1 million injection for 10 new doctors. This marked a dramatic U-turn, as just 24 hours earlier he had insisted there was no crisis.
Mr McGarrity's son, John Jnr, said: 'Dad recovered well for a good few months after the incident but he died on Friday after catching pneumonia. It was incredible how quickly he deteriorated. I thought it was a good thing that his case highlighted this crisis. It was great that the Record told his story and I just hope it changed things a little bit for others.'
At the time, Mr McGarrity, a retired fruit market worker who had suffered a stroke the previous year, was rushed to A&E with chest pains. He was left without a pillow and waited in a long queue, with a note on the wall warning patients of a six- to eight-hour wait for a proper bed, far exceeding the four-hour target.
The NHS attributed the delays to an unprecedented number of patients with winter illnesses, but many believe the root cause is a wider funding crisis. Mr McGarrity's funeral will be held on Friday at St Paul's Church in Whiteinch, followed by burial at St Peter's Cemetery in Dalbeth, Glasgow.
