Terence Dooley
10 Apr 2014 · Coroner Jean Harkin · Manchester City
The coroner's concerns
1. overdose of multiple tablets
“Despite the fact that each different tablet could be fatal on its own, let alone together, this call was given a code green.”
2. delayed emergency response
“This was an emergency and a delay of 2 hours and 38 minutes is totally unacceptable regardless of pressures on the service due to Halloween.”
3. miscommunication about response time
“There appears to have been a lack of communication. The call handler believed that a response vehicle would be dispatched in 20 minutes.”
4. misleading safety codes
“The computer generated codes are misleading. One death is one too many when it should have, and could have been avoided.”
Responses
2014-0162-Response-by-North-West-Ambulance-Service.pdf ↗· North West Ambulance Service
Stated action
“All emergency calls received by the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) are processed utilising the Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS), which is a system used both nationally and internationally. MPDS determines the priority in which vehicles should be dispatched based upon the immediacy of the life threatening symptoms displayed by the patient, as reported by the caller.”