Llandudno: Man's death four hours after calling 999 'accidental'
- Published
A coroner ruled James Sullivan's death was accidental, with alcohol as a contributing factor
A man found dead at the bottom of stairs had called for an ambulance nearly four hours earlier, an inquest heard.
But a coroner ruled that even if James Sullivan's 999 call had been upgraded to a more serious level, it would not have made a difference to the outcome.
An inquest in Ruthin concluded his death was accidental, with alcohol as a contributing factor.
Afterwards, Mr Sullivan's father John said his son had "deserved better".
James Sullivan, 37, fell down the stairs at his first-floor flat near Llandudno on 28 October.
He rang 999 at 02:58 BST to say he had fallen two hours earlier but an ambulance crew did not attend until 06:40, when they found his body.
Consultant pathologist Dr Andrew Dalton said Mr Sullivan had died from major internal blood loss caused by the rupturing of his spleen in the fall.
Assistant coroner for North Wales East and Central, Joanne Lees, told the inquest she did not believe it would have made a difference to his welfare even if the 999 call had been upgraded.
Gill Pleming, regional manager for the Welsh Ambulance Services Trust (WAST), said the call handler correctly categorised it as "amber two" (serious but not life-threatening).
She said one of the dispatchers made a call to check on Mr Sullivan's condition at 04:15 but there was no reply.
Ms Lees said that while there were gaps in WAST's staffing she was satisfied the shortfall did not mean there was a failure on the Trust's behalf.
John Sullivan said he had listened to everything that had been said on behalf of WAST but felt "very little had been done to save" his son.
The Sullivan family have lodged a complaint with WAST about James' treatment and were given a copy of a report presented to the coroner in evidence.
They hope to have a further meeting to talk through the issues.
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