‘He was let down by the NHS he loved’
Porter died after ambulance calls botched THREE TIMES
THE FAMILY of a former NHS porter – who died after call handlers failed to send out an ambulance three times – have said he was let down by the service he loved.
Harry Gill died 20 minutes after an ambulance sent to the 72-year-old’s home on Riding Barn Street, Church, was cancelled en-route.
An inquest heard that his family had called the 111 service after he began ‘coughing up vomit’.
NHS bosses have apologised after the hearing was told that the calls were ‘incorrectly processed’ by staff and on three occasions an ambulance should have been sent within 20 minutes.
After the hearing, Harry’s stepson Peter Eastwood called for an ‘in-depth review’ into the case. He said: “[Harry] was never as proud as when he got a job as a porter on the NHS in 1977 and then as a mortician.
“It’s a shame really that the service he fought for and supported and loved has let him down at the end.”
Coroner Michael Singleton concluded that the 111 service ‘failed to respond appropriately’.
He said he will now consider issuing a report to the service to try and prevent any similar future deaths.
AGREAT- GRANDFATHER who was coughing up vomit died after NHS 111 service call handlers repeatedly failed to send him an ambulance, an inquest heard.
Former NHS porter Harry Gill, died 20 minutes after an ambulance sent to the 72-year-old’s home on Riding Barn Street, Church, was cancelled en-route.
An inquest at Blackburn Coroners Court heard how call handlers advisers had ‘appallingly handled’ four calls from Mr Gill and his wife Dianne over a two-day period and on three earlier occasions had failed to conclude that an ambulance should be dispatched to him.
A post-mortem examination by Dr Richard Prescott found that Mr Gill’s bowel had become incarcerated in hernias on both sides of his groin and was ‘intermittently obstructed’, which caused his vomiting.
The inquest heard how Mr Gill had a ‘failing heart’ and his repeated vomiting and loss of fluid and electrolyte imbalance ‘placed on a strain’ on his heart and led to a fatal heart attack.
Mrs Gill told the inquest how her husband had been ‘ fit and well’ until they attended a wedding reception on May 28, when he started feeling sick.
She said the next day his vomit had turned into a ‘brown substance’’.
The hearing was told that our out of the five calls made between Mr and Mrs Gill and the NHS 111 service were ‘ incorrectly processed’ by the call handlers and on three occasions a ‘green 2’ code ambulance should have been sent within 20 min- utes. When questioned about the calls, NHS 111 clinical quality and nurse lead Alison Neville-Ralph agreed that they had been ‘appallingly handled’.
Mrs Gill contacted the NHS 111 service on June 1 and again on June 2, however on both occasions the call handlers ‘incorrectly processed’ the call.
The inquest heard how the service uses the NHS Pathways clinical assessment tool for triage calls from the public based on symptoms they report.
Coroner Michael Singleton recorded a narrative verdict but ruled that the ‘111 service failed to respond appropriately such that medical treatment was not made available to him’.
Mr Singleton told the inquest that he will now consider issuing a report to the NHS 111 service to try and prevent any similar future deaths.
Addressing Mrs Gill he said: “You sought medical help and medical advice and it’s a tragedy that was not forthcoming in the way that clearly it should have been.
“It’s important that if you are going to have a triage system then the system must be able to drill down and find out those that almost overstate their illness as well as those who understate.”