Mum of teenager who died 'failed' by Coventry hospital reps

Naomi Rees-Issitt and her son Jamie, right, who died on January 5 after suffering a cardiac arrest

The mum of a teenager who died after waiting 17 minutes for an ambulance said she feels "failed" by hospital representatives.

Naomi Rees-Issitt from Rugby, lost her son Jamie on January 5 following a cardiac arrest.

She had contacted University Hospital Coventry to discuss response times, but said they had not met her face-to-face.

A hospital spokesperson said it was committed to listening to feedback to further improve care and services.

Jamie, 18, had collapsed after returning home from watching fireworks on New Year's Eve.

He died minutes away from a locked defibrillator a nearby school.

The teenager's family and friends went on to create the OurJay Foundation and have helped install 43 of the life-saving devices in his memory.

A patient investigation into Jamie's death highlighted that the time taken to handover patient care between ambulance services and hospital, had been partly to blame for the fatality.

Through the OurJay Foundation, the family have helped install 43 of the life-saving devices in Jamie's memory

Ms Rees-Issitt had praised West Midlands Ambulance Service for its ongoing support, but said the family had felt a "little bit failed" by the hospital.

She explained the family had wanted more information on what had lead to delays, but said they had not heard from the trust until over a year after Jamie's death.

She added that the foundation had been invited to a meeting on Microsoft Teams, where they had been offered an opportunity to meet staff in-person.

However, they were yet to meet representatives face-to-face and had instead been offered a second online meeting.

"Even though they [ambulance service] have apologised and admitted to the failure, we just find it shocking that they are the only organisation that has stepped up and made that apology, "she said.

"Whereas, University Hospital Coventry can't even really be bothered to meet face-to-face," she added.

A spokesperson for University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust said representatives had invited Ms Rees-Issitt to a Trust board meeting, in the near future.

"Our thoughts remain with Jamie's family at this difficult time and we welcome their campaign to install more defibrillators in and around Rugby," they added.