Death investigated after ambulance failed to show up
Posted: March 2, 2015
Posted in: Medical Negligence Wrongful & Accidental Death
A man is trying to “bring up a case of manslaughter” after he found his mother dead ten hours after she called 111 and the ambulance that was sent to her turned back. Ann Walters phoned the NHS helpline from her home in December and the call was referred on to 999. After an ambulance was sent to her Portsmouth home, it was recalled minutes before reaching her house.
Her son, Lawrence Thorpe, said he is going to “bring up a case of manslaughter” if someone is found to be responsible. The South Central Ambulance Service has apologised for his loss and is investigating what happened.
“if someone is responsible … I would definitely like for them to lose their jobs”
It is believed that Ms Walters, from Baffin, died of heart failure. She called 111 at 08:11 on 28 December and an ambulance was dispatched at 08:25. However, it turned around three minutes later when it was almost at Ms Walters’s home on St Piran’s Avenue.
Mr Thorpe went to the house at 18:00 that evening to find his mother dead. An out-of-hours GP arrived two-and-a-half-hours-later, not knowing that the patient had died.
A spokesperson from the ambulance service said that they are unsure as to why the ambulance was recalled and an investigation is currently underway.
Mr Thorpe said: “If there is some negligence there, if someone is responsible for recalling that ambulance for no reason… I would definitely like for them to lose their jobs and maybe bring up a case of manslaughter.”
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