'Serious incidents' revealed by ambulance service

East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) has revealed details of 33 "serious untoward incidents" in the last three years.

One patient with anaphylactic shock died after a crew had no adrenaline to give. Another suffered serious injuries when a vehicle seat came loose.

Doctors also claimed ambulance staff did not give a cardiac arrest patient shock treatment.

The trust said procedures were always changed where necessary.

A spokesperson told the BBC the trust had already started making significant progress with regard to response times at least.

The revelations follow a Freedom of Information request by the BBC.

EMAS Director of Nursing and Quality Karen Glover said: "Between 2007 and 2009, East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust categorised 33 operational incidents as Serious Untoward Incidents.

"During the same period, we received nearly two million calls for help from the people of the East Midlands."

"We regret any serious untoward incident involving our patients, our staff or members of the public. The safety of patients, staff and the public is our priority we take this responsibility extremely seriously.

"Serious untoward incidents are rare. But when they do occur, we always conduct a thorough investigation without prejudice as soon as possible, regardless of culpability in the incident."

East Midlands Ambulance Service covers six counties and handles more than 600,000 emergency calls a year.