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Power Cut Delays Ambulance, Grandfather Dies
20 Mar
Summary
- Ambulance delayed by power cut jamming station gates.
- Second ambulance stopped for fuel en route to patient.
- Coroner cited possible contribution of delays to death.
A power outage in March 2019 led to critical delays in an ambulance reaching Peter Coates, a 62-year-old grandfather from Redcar, whose oxygen machine had failed. The initial ambulance could not depart due to jammed station gates caused by the outage. A second ambulance en route was further delayed when it stopped for refueling.
When the second ambulance finally arrived, the crew faced difficulties accessing Mr. Coates' home. The coroner, Paul Appleton, determined that these delays possibly contributed to his death, alongside complications from chronic COPD and obesity. He noted that Mr. Coates would likely not have died if the power cut had not occurred.
The coroner also raised concerns about a gap in ambulance response categorization, which prioritizes patients in cardiac or respiratory arrest, potentially slowing responses for others. He intends to issue a report to NHS England regarding this issue.
The North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) has expressed sincere condolences and stated that several procedural changes have been made since the incident, which were acknowledged during the inquest.
