2 weeks Ago
A CORONER has suggested that the system used by ambulance services across the country to categorise calls may no longer be fit for purpose. It comes after an 82-year-old Holywell woman was left lying on the floor for more than 15-hours because there was no ambulance available. Shirley Ann Hughes died at Glan Clwyd Hospital on June 6 and the cause of death was given as “sepsis of unknown aetiology”, with rhabdomlyolosis, diabetes, mellitus and lymphoedema as contributory factors.
At the end of an inquest in Ruthin John Gittins, senior coroner for North Wales East and Central, recorded a conclusion of natural causes but he has issued a Prevention of Future Report to the Welsh Ambulance Services Trust. The inquest heard evidence that Mrs Hughes collapsed at her home on June 1 and the first 999 call was made at 5.13pm.
It was allocated an Amber 2 response, the third most serious, but no ambulance was available, and at 4.13am it was upgraded to Amber 1 due to the length of time Mrs Hughes had been waiting. An ambulance finally arrived at 7.
48am and Mrs Hughes was taken to hospital, but died five days later. In his report the coroner said: “For many years, myself and other coroners have raised concerns regarding so-called ‘ambulance delays’ and I recognise that the challenges faced by WAST around the availability of resources are the result of multifactorial issues. MOST READ Best of the best - Wrexham and Flintshire North Wales Wedding Awards winners Signature Sunday roast and stunning views at award-winning village pub “However on every occasion when evidence is presented at inquests I am reminded that calls are prioritised using the Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS) by which a code is generated and that this is then matched to a response priority to provide an indication as to the most appropriate resource to respond.
“At the inquest of Mrs Hughes I was advised that MPDS was introduced in 2015 and at that time it was envisaged that an amber 1 priority call would be responded to in 20 minutes. “However, it was clearly the case that the multifactorial issues which prevail today were not envisaged at that time and that as a consequence this raises questions as to whether the MPDS system remains fit for purpose. “As a result of this evidence I am concerned that lives are being put at risk.
” The Trust has until December 23 to respond..
