Ms A complained about care provided to her late partner in November 2024. The Ombudsman investigated whether the Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust (“the Trust”) appropriately prioritised and responded to Ms A’s 999 call and whether it provided appropriate advice to her to safeguard her partner’s wellbeing, including in relation to the advice to find alternative transport to the Emergency Department (“the ED”) at Morriston Hospital. Ms A’s partner very sadly died after suffering a cardiac arrest on the way to hospital.
The Ombudsman found that the 999 call was appropriately prioritised by the Trust, but that it was not possible to provide a timely emergency response at the time due to extreme demand on the ambulance service. Accordingly, the first complaint was not upheld.
The Ombudsman found that the Emergency Medical Dispatcher (“the EMD”) who answered Ms A’s 999 call, had deviated from the call handling script when advising her to take her partner to the ED. However, it was not possible, with hindsight, to determine whether Ms A’s partner’s outcome would have been any different if the EMD had used the correct wording. Accordingly, the second complaint was not upheld.