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Man Dies Alone After Ambulance Denied Twice
10 Jul
Summary
- Man called 999 twice but was refused an ambulance.
- He died alone at home after a three-and-a-half-hour wait.
- Paramedics found the man deceased on his bathroom floor.
A man in his fifties died alone at his East Kilbride residence after emergency services twice refused to dispatch an ambulance to his home on November 18th of last year. Brian Hurton experienced symptoms consistent with an aortic dissection, a critical tear in the body's main artery.
He first contacted 999 reporting breathing distress and a feeling of collapse. Call handlers informed him that an ambulance was not immediately available due to busy local conditions and that a clinician would call back. He called again approximately ten minutes later, stating he was losing breath, but was again told a callback was the priority.
An hour and 12 minutes after his initial call, a clinician finally returned his call, but subsequent attempts to contact Mr. Hurton went unanswered. An ambulance was eventually dispatched at 21:12, arriving at 21:19, nearly three-and-a-half hours after his first emergency request.
Paramedics discovered Brian Hurton's front door ajar and found him deceased on his bathroom floor.
