Hull man died after ambulance 'left him at home'

The man, who has not been named, had been diagnosed with an umbilical hernia

A 51-year-old man died after an ambulance crew left him at home while suffering from a hernia which cut off blood supply to his bowel.

The man, from Hull, had to wait two hours for the ambulance after his wife called them for help in April 2019, lawyers for his family said.

He was told to stay at home and take anti-sickness drugs, but his condition worsened and he died two days later.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) has admitted breach of duty of care.

Represented by NHS Resolution, the ambulance service said it failed to take the man to hospital and, had it done so, it was likely he would have undergone surgery and survived.

In a statement made through Hudgell Solicitors, the man's widow said she had feared the situation was serious as her husband had previously been diagnosed with an umbilical hernia.

They had been advised to seek medical help should complications arise, but when she called an ambulance, she said the way he was treated was "disgusting".

'Sincere apologies'

She says the attitude of the ambulance crew "completely changed" when she informed them her husband had liver sarcoidosis, caused by alcohol dependence.

"I believe they dismissed him as an alcoholic," she said.

"He'd had his problems with alcohol but he knew that and he'd been off it for a month.

"As soon as I mentioned that though they decided it was alcohol-related, despite my husband lifting his shirt to show them the hernia. They were actually rude."

She added: "The morning he died he got out of bed and I heard a large bang. He'd fallen over and said his legs were weak.

"When I felt them they were freezing cold, and looking back now I know his body must have been shutting down," she said.

"I should have called for another ambulance then or driven him to hospital, but when I talked to him he kept saying the ambulance crew had said he was fine and not to worry. It has left me blaming myself for not doing more."

The ambulance service admitted the man's history of pain and vomiting were suggestive of the potential for strangulation of an existing hernia, and that his high pulse rate "should have prompted consideration of the potential for serious underlying illness and the need for further assessment in a hospital".

NHS Resolution offered its "sincere apologies for the sub-standard care" and agreed an out-of-court settlement.

Last year, YAS was criticised for putting lives at risk by not answering 999 emergency calls quickly enough.

Figures showed Yorkshire Ambulance Service took an average of 106 seconds to answer emergency calls in September 2021, compared with the national average of 45 seconds.