Man died after three-hour ambulance wait - coroner

Mr Parks deteriorated during his wait at Doncaster Royal Infirmary, a coroner said

A man having a heart attack died after waiting more than three hours for an ambulance, a coroner has said.

Shaun Parks, 52, died at Sheffield's Northern General Hospital on 13 December last year.

He had been in the emergency department of Doncaster Royal Infirmary for almost seven hours before an ambulance arrived to transfer him there.

South Yorkshire West assistant coroner Katy Dickinson said the "significant delay" to Mr Parks' treatment may have contributed to his death.

Mr Parks, who was a carer for his wife and lived at Broadway, Dunscroft, Doncaster, had gone to the emergency department at Doncaster Royal Infirmary (DRI) at about midnight on 12 December 2022.

After a wait of between an hour and 90 minutes, he was seen and a test showed he was having a heart attack.

A nurse contacted the ambulance service to transfer him to the Northern General Hospital’s primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) centre, which provides emergency heart attack treatment.

Ms Dickinson's prevention of future deaths report said the category two blue-light ambulance was booked at 03:06 GMT on December 13 and should have taken 40 minutes to arrive at the most.

Staffing 'insufficient'

An ambulance arrived more than three hours later at 06:29 GMT and Mr Parks got to the Northern General at 07:15 GMT.

The report said Mr Parks had "deteriorated during his time at Doncaster Royal Infirmary".

He died during a medical procedure at 10:17 GMT.

At an inquest earlier this month, Ms Dickinson ruled that the “significant delay” in Mr Parks receiving treatment may have contributed to his death.

Her report said: “In my opinion there is a risk that future deaths will occur unless action is taken.”

It said there were "insufficient" emergency medical dispatchers available and staffing at Yorkshire Ambulance Service had been "below the requirement to meet the expected demand".

The report added: "There was a significant delay in offloading patients at hospitals, which tied up resources and meant they were unable to respond to emergency calls."

Ms Dickinson has sent the report to the Department of Health and Social Care and the West Yorkshire Integrated Care System (ICS), which plans health services.

Both must respond by 14 February 2024, with details of action taken or proposed, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Alternatively, they must explain why no action is proposed.

Both have been approached for comment.

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