Elderly patient died after ambulance crew lost keys

Posted: 26th November 2013

Posted in: Medical Negligence Spine & Back Injuries Wrongful & Accidental Death 

An NHS report has revealed that last month an 87-year-old man died after an East Midlands Ambulance Service crew lost the keys to their vehicle. The elderly man had suffered a cardiac arrest on a local golf course, Derbyshire golf pavilion, and died there despite having been provided with treatment. The report does not explicitly state that the lack of hospital transport was the reason for his death, but it has been listed as one of the eight EMAS incidents that were highlighted as being particularly serious in October.

NHS England summoned senior managers from EMAS for an emergency risk summit regarding their poor response times to 999 phone calls, poor patient safety and the eight worrying incidents that occurred in October. The EMAS has issued no comment concerning the man’s death, but told NHS England that they plan to make major improvements to ensure that similar incidents do not happen again. The report provides no details regarding the circumstance of the lost keys.

Double fracture to lower back

Another incident that was included in the report involved a woman falling down a flight of stairs and was told my paramedics that she only had a bruised back. After paramedics left, she was still in such great pain that she phoned 999 for a second time and was taken into hospital, where they discovered a double fracture to her lower spine.

EMAS said that they are currently working on an improvement plan which aims to improve the handling of complaints, emergency response times and general patient safety.

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