Mother wants to know 'why Daddy was not saved'
BBCThe family of a 40-year-old father-of-two claim he was given minimal medical attention after a cardiac arrest, as the hospital launches a review.
Southmead Hospital in Bristol is investigating the death of Sunil Rastogi, who was allegedly left unmonitored, despite what his family feels were signs of a serious heart condition.
"The kids, when they are grown up, will ask me what happened with Daddy, why he was not saved? I need the truth," said Priya Rastogi.
A hospital spokesperson said: "As a result of Sunil's death, we have already started a comprehensive review to understand the full circumstances of what happened."
The software engineer's family say Mr Rastogi woke early at home on 18 February 2025, suffering from severe stomach discomfort and over the next few hours started to vomit and have heart palpitations.
At about 09:00 GMT, paramedics arrived and took an electrocardiogram (ECG).
Mrs Rastogi took a photo of the reading that was marked as "abnormal" for a man aged over 40 and showed "a possible subendocardial injury".
When they arrived at Southmead, Mrs Rastogi claims her husband was put in a ward where there was no continuous monitoring of his health.
Mrs Rastogi says she believes the abnormal ECG results were potentially overlooked.
She claims Mr Rastogi was only attended to by a group of doctors at noon, when family friend Mukesh Kulsreth raised the alarm after he gasped for breath.
Mr Kulsreth told the BBC: "When I arrived, there were no doctors and I felt his body is a little colder.
"No monitoring was there in the room and suddenly he started losing his breath and then I rushed to the emergency desk and the nurses didn't respond quickly."
It was not until the family pleaded again with staff that they claim that doctors arrived for the very first time.
The family say they were told that he had had a cardiac arrest at 12:10 GMT and at 12:45, the family were informed that Mr Rastogi had died.
Prof Steve Hams, chief nursing officer at North Bristol Trust, said they would like to offer their "deepest condolences" to the family following their loss.
"I want to acknowledge the profound impact this has had on them and assure them, and the wider public, that we take this matter with the utmost seriousness," Mr Hams said.
Sanjeev Shukla, speaking on behalf of the family, said: "We are concerned it took two hours for an ambulance to arrive and he should have been given greater priority in their triage."
"We feel he should have been taken to the Bristol Heart Institute where he would have been in the hands of cardiac experts," they added.
A spokesperson for the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust said: "We would like to offer our sincere condolences to the family and friends of Mr Rastogi following his sad death."
They added they would review the case and share findings with the family after it had taken place.
After bringing up her family in Bristol for more than three years, Mrs Rastogi, 38, is now facing deportation to India, as she can no longer rely on her husband's work visa.
Family friends are crowdfunding to support Mrs Rastogi and her children as Mr Rastogi was the breadwinner.
Follow BBC Bristol on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.