Tragic 18-year-old heart attack died after waiting more than 15 minutes for ambulance –

An 18-year-old boy with a “very good chance of survival” died tragically of cardiac arrest after an ambulance arrived “three minutes” late to assist him.

The youth, whose identity has not been released, suffered a heart attack while he was out with his friends.

He was one of more than 70 people from the West Midlands who, in a one-year period, could experience crews not being “driven” out of hospitals for hours, an ambulance chief said last week.

Ambulance manager Mark Docherty filed a complaint shortly before visiting the teenager’s family.

“We came three minutes late to save him,” he said.

Mark Docherty (pictured) believes more than 70 people die in a year in the West Midlands due to ambulance delays

Mr. Docherty thinks he’d have a chance if a team had caught up to him earlier.

“I’ll be visiting his family soon. The case notes will make you cry,” he said, his voice trembling. “He knew he was in trouble.

“I have a strange feeling,” he told his friends, and lay down on the ground, knowing that something was going to happen. And we didn’t arrive on time.’

999 Category 1 “Life-threatening” calls should ideally be reached within a target time of seven minutes with a maximum margin of 15 minutes.

Docherty added: “A fit 18-year-old would probably have a very good chance of survival, but we’re three minutes late, which makes a huge difference in cardiac arrest. I know the family will be asking what we’re going to do to make sure this doesn’t happen again, and the truth is I don’t know what else we can do.” “

Ambulances are delayed as vehicles are routinely parked for longer than the 30 minutes required for the safe transfer of a patient (Photo: West Midlands Ambulance Centre)

This was a tragic example of the impact of too many EMS personnel being “driven” out of cramped hospitals waiting to evacuate sick patients before they could get back on the road.

Despite promises of immediate action, the West Midlands Ambulance Service says the delays are too long and persistent.

Thousands of ambulance hours are lost each week and delays often reach hours as vehicles are routinely parked for more than 30 minutes to safely transport a patient.

These delays have a fluctuating effect on response times.

Mr Docherty says the data analysis study identified 72 local people he said died as a result of delayed ambulance response within a year.

Emergency Service Delivery Manager Nathan Hudson (pictured) said the current state of ambulance delays in the area is “terrible”.

The topic came up at a WMAS board meeting last week, emergency room manager Nathan Hudson said, “For our response (timing) at this time (timing) I want to say I’m very sorry, very sorry for the patients and even some of their families. enough, it’s terrible that we’re in this current situation.’

Docherty also said the situation has had a devastating impact on paramedics and paramedics who have seen and heard firsthand the desperate impact of delays.

Patients and their families often had to call repeatedly to chase ambulances.

This has meant that sometimes emergency room personnel experience the “very disturbing” scenario of hearing someone’s last words as they worsen while waiting for help to reach them.

At the meeting, it was learned that the concerns had been reported many times for months, but the situation did not improve despite the efforts of the hospitals.

March was likely to set a new record for ambulance hours lost outside of hospitals.

About the hospital relocation delays, the NHS in the Midlands said: “NHS staff have gone above and beyond in the past year, treating hundreds of thousands of people who are sick from critically ill Covid while facing record levels of emergency room visits and ambulance calls.

“Anyone who needs NHS assistance should report it online to 111 or call 999 for a life-threatening emergency so staff can assist you with the best option for your care.”

They added that systems across the region are supported, including: Working to develop and implement policies to ensure that ambulance services are able to immediately transfer a patient to the emergency room if there is a risk to a patient in the community and that risk does not exist in the area where the ambulance will be available to respond.

Develop action plans to share risk and reduce delays between systems for rapid patient transfer

Working to ensure that patients who do not need first aid are adequately seen elsewhere within the NHS

Ensuring systems work together to discharge patients when necessary, keeping capacity available for those needing hospitalization.

Do you know the 18-year-old boy who died? Email matt.powell@mailonline.co.uk