By Madeline O’Connor

THE FATHER of X Factor star Ray Quinn has urged stroke victims to get themselves to hospital as quick as they can, after his own actions may have saved his life.

Ray Quinn Snr, who works as a floor installer, started to feel unwell last Wednesday morning, and called 999 – a move doctors said was crucial to his swift recovery.

He had been working at a house in Toxteth,Liverpoolwhen he began feeling dizzy and unwell. He immediately grabbed his mobile to call wife Valerie, but couldn’t get through to her. So he pressed the “emergency calls only” button and an ambulance was sent out to him.

Seventeen minutes after he arrived at theRoyalLiverpoolHospital, Mr Quinn was given a life-saving injection of blood clot-busting drug thrombolysis.

Consultants at the Royal say it was the fastest-ever treatment recorded there, and it is believed Mr Quinn will make a full recovery.

The 65-year-old told the Liverpool Echo: “I am so glad I pressed that emergency only button – I had no signal, I could not dial anyone and I was on my own.I was terrified but the ambulance arrived within minutes and whatever they gave me at the hospital did the trick

“This treatment can only be given up to 4½ hours from the onset of stroke symptoms, yet it really can prevent lasting damage – but only if people come to us in time. We have one of the best teams in the region, yet people are not getting here quick enough.

“We want to double the number of people arriving at hospital within those vital early stages of a stroke, so that they can be treated.”

Mr Quinn, whose well-known son is currently appearing in the hit musical Legally Blonde, added: “Before I had the injection, I was dizzy and frightened, I couldn’t move my left arm or leg at all – but now look at me! It is a day later and I can stand up, shave, turn over and I should be leaving here after just a few more tests.”

Warning signs that you may be having a stroke include sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body; sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding; sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes; sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination and sudden, severe headache with no known cause