text: Great-grandmother: Gloria Ross, 84, died following a stroke in hospital – after she was ignored by nurses for more than an hour, her distraught family say . A great-grandmother died following a stroke in hospital – after she was ignored by nurses for more than an hour, her distraught family say. Gloria Ross, 84, who spent 30 years in the National Health Service as a nurse, was found with a distorted face when she was visited by her grandson Wayne Wilkins, 25. But when he asked nurses at Whipps Cross Hospital, North East London, for help, they said Mrs Ross was ‘just tired’ – and told him the senior nurse was ‘on a break’. Mr Wilkins called his mother, Mrs Ross’ daughter Maxine, 49, who rushed to the hospital and pleaded with nurses to step in. It was not until an hour had passed that Mrs Ross was finally assessed by a doctor, who realised she had suffered a stroke and arranged for her to be taken to a stroke unit at Royal London Hospital. However, she never regained full consciousness and died two weeks later. Crucially, her oxygen levels were not checked until she was seen by the ambulance crew – 90 minutes after Mr Wilkins raised the alarm. They were found to be at a level where brain damage can set in. Barts Health NHS Trust, which runs Whipps Cross and was put into special measures last month over a series of failings, has begun an investigation into the treatment of Mrs Ross. The nurses’ alleged inaction occurred despite the NHS’s own campaign – launched six years ago – that uses the acronym FAST, standing for Face, Arms, Speech, Time. People are told to call 999 ‘immediately’ if a suspected victim’s face has fallen on one side, they cannot raise their arms or if their speech is slurred. Describing her mother’s appearance after the stroke, Miss Ross said: ‘Although she opened her eyes, she could not communicate and became agitated with pain, so was on morphine. It was awful watching her like that. ‘There were at least four nurses on the ward at Whipps Cross but they didn’t do anything until I hit the roof. ‘My mother gave her working life to the NHS. Although she has shown early signs of dementia, she was still very much with it, still very quick apart from memory loss sometimes. Inquiry: Barts Health NHS Trust, which runs Whipps Cross (above) and was put into special measures last month over a series of failings, has begun an investigation into the treatment of Mrs Ross . ‘What was killing me was wondering how long my mother had been there before Wayne saw her. She still recognised us when I got to Whipps Cross so she must have been wondering why nobody was coming to help her. I want other people to be aware of what happened and for the hospital to make sure it never happens again.’ Mrs Ross, a widow with four grandchildren and a great-grandchild, was being looked after by her daughter at home but was admitted to Whipps Cross after developing a urinary infection. She suffered the stroke on Sunday, March 22 and died in the Royal London on April 2. Her case comes after Barts Health Trust was put into special measures by the Care Quality Commission watchdog last month due to a catalogue of failings at Whipps Cross. A Barts Health NHS Trust spokesman said: ‘We are extremely concerned to learn of the issues raised by the family of Mrs Ross. We will be conducting an investigation.’
target: Gloria Ross was found with a distorted face when grandson visited her .
  He raised alarm with nurses at Whipps Cross Hospital, North East London .
  But they said she was ‘just tired’ and that senior nurse was ‘on a break’
  Later discovered she'd had stroke - and she never regained consciousness .