Woman died after six-hour wait for ambulance

A woman died on the steps of a caravan after waiting six hours for an ambulance.

Three 999 calls were made to East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) in the hours before the 44-year-old's death on 21 July 2022.

A police misconduct hearing on Monday was told an ambulance should have responded within 18 minutes but arrived six hours later.

East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust offered its "sincere apologies" and admitted its service at the time had been "below the standards that it aspires to achieve".

The 999 calls from the caravan site on Winthorpe Way in Skegness were played at the hearing at Bishop Grosseteste University.

In the first at 01:17 BST, the woman's friend told the call handler she had consumed a large quantity of his medication and assaulted him.

The initial call was placed under category two, meaning an average response time of 18 minutes.

Police officers attended for about 30 minutes and the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was left in the care of a different friend at about 02:00, with the understanding that a medical response was in place.

Sgt Connor Ingamells and PC Paige Thompson, who were accused of not making suitable arrangements to safeguard the woman and making sure she received medical attention, were cleared of misconduct allegations.

A second 999 call was made by the woman at 03:03, in which she said she was "feeling hammered". She was told an ambulance had been arranged.

In a final call at 04:27, she stated she was "slipping away" and was told by the call handler they "don't know how long it's [the ambulance] going to be".

Paramedics reported the woman as unresponsive and unconscious at 07:28 and she was confirmed dead at 07:53.

Sue Cousland, the trust's director of operations for Lincolnshire, said the delay was due to a "number of factors, including high 999 call volume, prolonged patient handover delays at hospital, and resource shortages".

"We extend our condolences to [the woman's] family [and] reiterate our sincere apologies that the service provided on this occasion was below the standards that we aspire to achieve, and which patients have every right to expect," she added.

Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.