Wife's plea to give train driver husband 'a chance' as he is refused treatment at brain injury unit

-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)
-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)


The wife of a Bangor train driver who suffered brain damage after having a heart attack while working is begging doctors to "give her husband a chance" as he is refused treatment at a brain injury ward in Belfast.

On May 16, Gareth Myatt was at work and driving a train along the Belfast to Portadown line when someone jumped onto the tracks just outside of Lisburn causing him to make an emergency stop.

While he managed to ensure that the train stopped before a collision, Gareth was left extremely shaken by the ordeal. He tried his best to continue working after this but a few minutes later he suffered a heart attack and was found unconscious by the train conductor, with nurses who were on board carrying out CPR until an ambulance arrived an hour later.

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After arriving in intensive care at the Royal Victoria Hospital it was found that Gareth had developed brain damage due to a lack of oxygen reaching his brain as a result of the heart attack.

Train driver George Myatt
Train driver George Myatt

It was later determined that the shock he experienced when the person ran out on the train tracks had caused the heart attack as Gareth was deemed to be in a very fit and healthy state prior to this.

After two weeks, Gareth was moved from intensive care to a cardiac ward at the Ulster Hospital where his wife Michelle says he made great progress with his physical health and was working to improve his cognitive ability and motor skills.

After a few weeks Gareth, no longer needed to be on the cardiac ward and doctors had tried to have him moved to the Regional Acquired Brain Injury Unit at Musgrave Hospital run by the Belfast Trust.

However, Gareth has been refused admission to the unit with his worried wife saying that she has been told different reasons why. First she says she was told that Gareth was too agitated from frustration to be admitted onto the ward, which Michelle felt was unfair as he was recovering from a traumatic brain injury. Recently she says she has been told that he won't be admitted because doctors do not believe he can make a full recovery.

Speaking to Belfast Live, Michelle said she does not think that it is right that doctors are not giving her husband a fighting chance to recover and that he has shown over the past three months that he has the capability to improve his condition.

She also claims that decisions have been made about Gareth being admitted onto the ward without an in-person assessment being carried out on him, with the last one taking place in July.

She said: "All I am asking is that Gareth is given the chance to show that he can make progress and recover and he has shown over the past few months that he is not only able to do this, but determined to do so as well.

Gareth Myatt
Gareth Myatt

"On the cardiac ward he has been working very hard with me, our sons and the nurses there and has come on leaps and bounds with his speech.

"To be denied the opportunity of any treatment at the Regional Acquired Brain Injury Unit is a massive blow and I don't think that Gareth has been treated fairly at all as we have been told different reasons as to why they won't admit him, neither or which I believe are acceptable.

"Gareth is a hugely devoted father to our two boys and the kindest man anyone could ever meet with a huge love for the outdoors and nature, and he is so desperate to be able to come home but until he gets the treatment he requires this is just not possible.

"But we will not let this rest and we will do whatever it takes to make sure that he is able to get a chance at recovery and come home to be with his family."

A Belfast Health and Social Care Trust spokesperson said: "Belfast Trust has reviewed Mr Myatt’s case on three occasions since August 2024. Regrettably, he has not been deemed suitable for treatment at the Regional Acquired Brain Injury Unit at Musgrave Park Hospital. It is hoped that if his condition improves, he can be reviewed again."

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