LINCOLNSHIRE, U.K. — Medics were not called to respond to a patient who had fallen over and sustained brain damage as they were on a lunch break, a UK inquest heard.
Coroner Stuart Fisher criticized the rules at the hearing, saying the delay was “alarming” and branded the regulations as “inflexible,” according to The Telegraph.
The inquest was told that Harold Tinsley, 78, died in a hospital four days after falling outside his home last fall.
Neighbors immediately called emergency services when Tinsley started having convulsions, but it took 47 minutes for an ambulance to show up.
The inquest was told an available ambulance was 24 minutes away, but the unit was not dispatched because the paramedics were “outside of the resourcing window,” meaning they were on a lunch break.
Simon Tomlinson, of EMAS, admitted there had been “a resourcing problem,” and added, “It’s not the service we like to provide. It’s not acceptable.”
However, Phil Milligan, the service’s chief executive, said National Health Service regulations mean medics must take half-hour, undisturbed meal breaks for safety and employment rights reasons.
Recording an open verdict, the coroner said he could not be sure the delay had contributed to the death.
However, he raised concern about the current procures and has called for changes to be made.
“It seems the current procedure is inflexible and needs to be looked at,” he said at the hearing. “I would have thought the main priority to the organization should be the patient.”