Man in Cornwall waiting 13 hours for ambulance died after stroke

Tony Hudson had a suspected stroke

A woman has shared her "anger" after her husband had to wait more than 13 hours for an ambulance following a suspected stroke.

Di Hudson called emergency services for husband Tony Hudson, 74, near Bodmin at about 01:00 GMT on 15 December.

An ambulance arrived more than 13 hours later, and Mr Hudson died in hospital on 27 December.

A spokesperson for Cornwall's ambulance service apologised for the delay and said it is under "enormous pressure".

Mr and Mrs Hudson moved from the South East to Cornwall in April, and Mrs Hudson said she had "always been worried" about the number of hospitals available.

'Almost criminal'

She said: "I'm just so cross. I'm just so angry. He was only 74 and it's just not right.

"I don't know if he'd have survived and we'll never know. That's a game I don't want to play.

"What I want is for people to realise the true impact this is having on families and the people left behind."

She added: "It's all about speed, and to make someone wait 14 hours after they've had a stroke is almost criminal."

Di Hudson's husband Tony died in hospital in December

A spokesperson for the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) said they were sorry they could not provide Mr Hudson with "a timely response".

They added: "Our ambulance clinicians strive every day to deliver their best care for patients, but our performance has not returned to pre-pandemic levels, partly due to handover delays at emergency departments."

The service said it is working to "improve the service that patients receive".

It comes as the South West ranked highest in NHS England's figures which showed time lost to ambulance handover delays.

Hours measured from 14 November 2022 to January 8 2023 show 892.4 hours were lost in the region.

This is compared to the lowest figure in the South East of 234.6 hours lost.

Latest figures from NHS England also show the percentage of ambulance arrivals waiting over 30 minutes to hand over patients.

The Royal Cornwall Hospital was the second highest on the list with 85%, following Norfolk and Norwich Hospitals with 86%.

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