Jody Keenan: Ombudsman appeal over Newry ambulance wait death

Jody Keenan's funeral took place on Wednesday

The Police Ombudsman has appealed for witnesses over the death of a woman who was waiting more than 45 minutes for an ambulance on a street in Newry.

Jody Keenan, who was 39, died in the early hours of Sunday after calling emergency services.

PSNI officers were with her on more than one occasion before she died and before an ambulance arrived. The PSNI later contacted the ombudsman.

Ms Keenan's death is not being treated as suspicious.

It is understood she became seriously ill during a night out in Newry city centre.

A prayer ceremony was held in St Paul's High School in Bessbrook on Monday morning

She was socialising with friends when she collapsed on Trevor Hill.

The funeral of Ms Keenan, who was a classroom assistant at St Paul's High School, in Bessbrook, County Armagh, took place on Wednesday.

• Jody Keenan was 'kindest, most beautiful person'

In its statement the ombudsman said it was seeking witnesses "to an incident in the Trevor Hill area of Newry, County Down, in the early hours of Sunday, 10 April 2022".

"The incident happened some time between 02:00 and 04:00," the ombudsman said.

The funeral cortege makes its way to the Church of the Assumption

"We are appealing for witnesses who may have seen a female fall into the street, or who may have observed an incident in the area during the relevant time.

"We would be particularly keen to speak with anyone who saw what happened or recorded video footage of the incident on their mobile phone or dash cam.

"If you believe you can help, our witness appeal line is 0800 032 7880."

The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) said it received a call about Ms Keenan at 03:15 BST on Sunday but no ambulances were immediately available at the time due to a shortage of crews.

Two ambulances were eventually sent to the scene, one from Belfast and one from Banbridge.

Ms Keenan had been socialising with friends in the Trevor Hill area of Newry

However, the first crew did not arrive at Trevor Hill until 04:03 BST - 48 minutes after NIAS said it got the first 999 call about the emergency.

By that stage, she had died, despite efforts to resuscitate her, including by Ms Keenan's mother who attempted to give her CPR.

On Tuesday, the PSNI's district commander in Newry, Supt Norman Haslett. said: "The Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland (OPONI) has been advised about this incident and are currently assessing the matter, given police were with Jody shortly before her death.

"We are currently assisting OPONI with their assessment and our thoughts remain firmly at this time with Jody's family, friends, colleagues and all those affected by this tragic incident."

The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service has apologised to the family and is carrying out its own investigation.