Paramedics test for fatal illness after dad's death
Pub regulars in Telford have raised £18,000 to provide ketone testing equipment for West Midlands ambulance crews in memory of a local man who died from diabetic ketoacidosis. The initiative aims to ensure paramedics can routinely test for the life-threatening complication, which was not widely available at the time of the man's death.
Why it matters
This community-led initiative highlights the critical role of public fundraising in addressing gaps in emergency medical equipment and improving patient outcomes for chronic conditions.
Nik Russell with his son Leon who has helped raise money in his dad's name [Family] Pub regulars have raised £18,000 in memory of a young dad who died as a result of a serious complication with his diabetes, allowing ambulance crews across the West Midlands to test for it.
Nik Russell had diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), where a lack of insulin causes harmful substances known as ketones to build up in the blood.
Fundraising by staff and customers at The Elizabethan on Woodside, Telford, has helped pay for ketone testing equipment to be routinely available to crews across the region.
The pub is one of the finalists in the BBC Make a Difference Awards this autumn.
Lesley Russell, his mother, said the "pain" of losing him was "there all the time" but she was proud that paramedics could now test all diabetics for DKA.
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