Inquest rules ambulance delays may have contributed to death of Teesside man during power-cut
An inquest's found a power cut did play a part in the death of a Teesside man who died while waiting for an ambulance.
An inquest's found a power cut did play a part in the death of a Teesside man who died while waiting for an ambulance.
62 year-old Peter Coates from Dormanstown needed an oxygen machine for his severe lung condition, but a power cut in 2019 meant it stopped working.
The inquest heard today that Peter waited around 40 minutes for paramedics to turn up - and it was during this time that he had died.
The court heard the delay was caused by the first ambulance being unable to open the station gates due to the power cut and not knowing how to manually open it, then a second ambulance couldn’t locate the keysafe to get into his home due to the pitch black.
Today the Coroner concluded Peter's death was down to complications of severe COPD and consequences of obesity, but also said Peter “would have survived if the power cut had not occurred.
The court also heard delays from the North East Ambulance Service may also have contributed to his death.
Peter's daughter, Kellie Coates, spoke outside Middlesbrough Town Hall, following the conclusion earlier;
"While the truth has now finally been acknowledged in our dad's case, it is for us, just unacceptable that families must continue to fight so hard to get to the facts,
"Transparency and accountability should be a default, not something we should be forced to fight for."
Karen O’Brien, deputy chief executive at North East Ambulance Service, said:
“This is a tragic incident which we understand has deeply affected the family and those staff at NEAS who were involved. We are truly sorry that we were not quicker in responding to Mr Coates' call.
“We have made several changes to our processes since this happened, which have been considered during the inquest and which were acknowledged by the Coroner during his detailed ruling in court today.
“We wish to once again pass on our sincere condolences to Mr Coates' family for their very sad loss."