NHS Trust slammed after pensioner dies waiting more than nine hours for ambulance

Peter Parker, 79, from Port Talbot, phoned for an ambulance after falling and cutting his arm at 9.19pm but paramedics did not arrive at his house until 6.30am the following day

An elderly man died while more than nine hours for an ambulance after falling at his home with a senior coroner now blasting an NHS Trust.

Retired coach driver Peter Parker had dialled 999 after cutting himself on glass at 9.19pm, and should have been expecting assistance from paramedics within 20 minutes, his inquest heard. But due to delays offloading patients at hospitals, first responders did not arrive until 6.30am the following morning.

As a result, the 79-year-old was tragically announced dead shortly after 7am when the paramedics gained access to the home on September 11, 2021. Now, acting senior coroner for Swansea, Neath and Port Talbot, Aled Gruffydd, has expressed concern that the response time was "beyond the expected survivability of such an injury".

He said the categorisation of the injury on the night in question - in which other ambulances spent the equivalent of a whole 12-hour shift waiting to drop off patients - was "inappropriate". Writing to Swansea Bay University Health Board and the Welsh Ambulance Service Trust (WAST) he said the "significant delay" in getting an ambulance to Mr Parker 'resulted in him dying from his injuries before assistance arrived'.

At his inquest last week, it was heard Mr Parker called 999 for an ambulance at 9.19pm on September 10 and stated blood was "pumping out" of a cut on his arm after cutting himself on glass at his home in Port Talbot. Around three and a half minutes into the call, the line disconnected when the call handler was attempting to give him advice on how to suppress the bleeding.

The (WAST) call handler then made five unsuccessful attempts to reconnect the call, it was heard. The Medical Priority Dispatch System in operation by WAST gave Mr Parker an Amber 1 priority - meaning he would be dealt with after all the Red priority calls were cleared.

As a result, the requested rapid response vehicle arrived at his home at 6.30am the next morning. They eventually gained access to Mr Parker's home at 7am - more than nine and a half hours after the ambulance was requested - where he was sadly pronounced dead at 7.09am.

At his inquest, the coroner found his death had been "contributed to by the significant delay in the arrival of the requested ambulance". In a Prevention of Future Death Report, Mr Gruffydd has now revealed "matters of concern" heard at the inquest. He pointed out the reason given for the delay was ambulances waiting at Emergency Departments to hand over patients, meaning that the ambulances were not, therefore, responding to calls for assistance.

"The longest wait at the Emergency Department by an ambulance on the evening in question was 11-12 hours, which is the equivalent of a whole 12 hour shift where that ambulance was not responding to calls," he wrote. "The inquest heard evidence that when the MPDS system was introduced in 2015 it was envisaged that an Amber 1 priority call would be responded to in 20 minutes from the time of the call and that a person with a transected radial artery could expect to survive 30-45 minutes.

"Given that it was not feasible for Peter to transport himself to hospital, and Peter had not contacted his family for their assistance, I am concerned that the response time in this case was beyond the expected survivability of such an injury. The Amber 1 priority rating was by itself not incorrect but was inappropriate in the context of the time taken to respond to such priorities on the evening in question.

"I am further concerned that the reason for the delay was due to ambulances waiting to offload patients at hospitals, in accordance with the ambulance's duty of care, and therefore not responding to emergency calls as is their purpose." He continued: "There was a significant delay in getting an ambulance to Peter which resulted in him dying from his injuries before assistance arrived.

"The time for survival of such injuries was 30-45 minutes, however the time taken to respond was in excess of nine hours. Whilst there is no specific target for Amber 1 calls it was envisaged that when the system was introduced such calls would be responded to in 20 minutes."

He concluded: "In my opinion action should be taken to prevent future deaths and I believe you and your organisation have the power to take such action." Mr Gruffydd reminded the organisations - and fellow recipient Chief Executive NHS Wales, Judith Paget CBE - they are under a duty to reply by December 17.