Ambulance service apologises after woman who fell into rocks died in Suffolk
A coroner found it was 'possible' Saffron Cole-Nottage would have been rescued if the East of England Ambulance Service had acted differently
An ambulance service has apologised after a coroner found a woman who fell into rocks might have been rescued had they acted differently.
Saffron Cole-Nottage died on 2nd February 2025 after falling headfirst into rocks on the Lowestoft coastline and becoming stuck.
Neill Moloney, CEO of the East of England Ambulance Service Trust (EEAST), has apologised after a coroner found it was "possible" Cole-Nottage would have survived had the service acted differently.
Moloney said: "We accept the coroner's findings and note the decision to issue a Prevention of Future Deaths report.
"We are deeply sorry Saffron didn't receive the care she deserved, and we offer our sincere apologies to her family for the distress caused by this tragic incident.
"We are carefully considering the coroner's observations and have already begun work to strengthen our call handling and clinical triage processes, as well as our coordination with partner emergency services.
"We are fully committed to learning from this case and taking clear, practical steps to reduce the risk of anything similar happening again.
"Our thoughts remain with Saffron's family and loved ones."
On the night Cole-Nottage died, a 999 call was made to the ambulance service after members of the public were unable to free her from the rocks.
Area coroner Darren Stewart OBE found that EEAST first communicated with Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service almost 12 minutes after the caller described what had happened over the phone.
When the fire service arrived at 20:22, they were told by the paramedic at the scene that Saffron had died.
This was not in accordance with accepted guidance for drowning incidents, which directs that rescue should be attempted for 30 minutes after the first responder arrives and determines that a person has been submerged.
The fire service disagreed and freed Cole-Nottage within 30 seconds, although Saffron was pronounced dead around 20 minutes after the fire service first arrived.
The coroner found that the incident should not have been declared to be a body recovery before 20:43, and that doing so meant that rescue was not attempted during a crucial window when it should have been.
According to the coroner, had the fire service been informed that the incident involved a trapped person on the seafront before 20:03, they would have attended and attempted to rescue Saffron, and it is possible that Saffron would have survived.
The coroner made several other findings about the emergency response, including that incomplete instructions were passed by the call handler to the bystanders at the scene, crews at the scene had not been reminded of drowning guidelines, and proper notes had not been made.
Saffron’s partner said: "It has been a long and difficult 15 months to get here.
"We have finally got some closure and an understanding of what actually happened to Saff that night.
"Hopefully the emergency services have listened to the coroner and going forward no other family has to go through what we went through."