Lessons must be learned

The events surrounding the death of Washington man Jimmy Quinn are truly saddening.

Jimmy suffered serious injuries to his right arm after falling into a glass cabinet at his Washington home.

But an inquest heard yesterday that a 999 call by the stricken 61-year-old led to a catalogue of errors and a communication breakdown, which meant he died from what a coroner described as “potentially survivable” injuries.

At 7.05pm on July 1, 2016, he made a 999 call and asked for an ambulance, telling the operator that his “arm was hanging off ”.

But the operator failed to record information about the seriousness of Mr Quinn’s injuries – which should have triggered the immediate dispatch of an ambulance.

In a further call Mr Quinn said he kept passing out and could not open his locked door.

North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) contacted Northumbria Police and asked for assistance to gain entry into Mr Quinn’s home, however the message was misinterpreted and officers delayed attendance.

Further failures in communication led to a delay of almost an hour before police and paramedics gained entry to Mr Quinn’s home, but by this time his injuries had worsened and he later died in hospital.

Coroner Terence Carney called the arrangements between the services “fatally flawed”.

As a result of the tragedy, police say steps have already been taken to address the issues, while the NEAS says it has investigated the incident and implemented a number of actions.

Jimmy sister Joanne said: “I hope he hasn’t died in vain and the emergency services learn from this.”

Let’s hope this is the case.