WILLIAM ‘WOULD PUT ANYONE ELSE BEFORE HIMSELF’ Family pay tribute at his inquest
THE family of a man who died four days after being found hanging in his garage have raised concerns about ambulance delays.
William Caruso, 31, was in cardiac arrest and had stopped breathing when a 999 call was made to summon help.
Although paramedics managed to resuscitate him and take him to Royal Stoke University Hospital, he suffered brain damage due to being starved of oxygen.
Mr Caruso passed away on April 12, 2019. His relatives agreed to donate his organs and they helped save four other lives.
Now an inquest has heard there was a delay of four minutes and seven seconds in an ambulance reaching his home in Rudyard. This was due to two separate issues.
A call taker had taken several minutes before establishing the exact address. Mr Caruso’s brother, who rang 999 while en route to Rudyard, had been desperately trying to give them directions.
The second delay was down to West Midlands Ambulance Service not realising there was an ambulance just 0.4 miles away.
The crew sent to the scene was a mile away at the time.
Mr Caruso’s family told the inquest ‘four minutes felt like four hours’. They praised paramedics who managed to initially revive him, but questioned whether the delay contributed to his death.
Dr Chris Pickering, who compiled a report following the death, said he didn’t feel the late arrival of the ambulance would have made any difference to the outcome.
“Mr Caruso could have been in cardiac arrest prior to having been found,” he added.
A West Midlands Ambulance Service serious incident report confirmed the overall delays and that the call taker ‘didn’t follow the established guidelines’ in finding out the address.
The inquest heard Mr Caruso had a history of mental health issues and had been under the care of the Ashcombe Centre in Cheddleton.
He was diagnosed with an emotionally unstable personality disorder and also reported hearing voices telling him to harm himself.
In addition to anti-psychotic medication, he was on prescription pills for anxiety and depression. He was also alcohol dependent.
Mr Caruso made several earlier attempts to take his own life.
In the lead-up to his death, he’d been worrying about being evicted due to rent arrears. His financial concerns had led to him taking in a lodger, Christopher Mason.
Mr Mason had left for work on the morning of April 8, 2019, assuming Mr Caruso was staying at his partner’s home.
In a statement, he said he received a message that evening, saying ‘Don’t come back tonight, mate’.
By then, Mr Mason was nearly home. He arrived to find Mr Caruso hanging in the garage. He lifted him to the floor and alerted Mr Caruso’s brother, who rushed to the scene. Mr Mason said he drove to a friend’s house and told them to call for an ambulance.
North Staffordshire area coroner Emma Serrano concluded Mr Caruso’s death was due to suicide.
Speaking after the inquest, his family said: “He was a good man. He’d put anyone before himself.”