Ex-clerk slams the ambulance service (From Cotswold Journal)

Ex-clerk slams the ambulance service

10:54am Thursday 2nd July 2009

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STOW Town Council’s former clerk has slammed the ambulance service for taking nearly 40 minutes to reach him following his heart attack.

An ambulance was called to attend to Mike Corker, aged 61, when he suffered a heart attack shortly before the council’s monthly meeting at Stow’s Masonic Hall.

Mr Corker, who has since retired, had to wait 39 minutes for the ambulance, during which time he was helped by PC Chris Skinner and ex-ambulance technician Steven Jones who were attending the meeting. The ambulance arrived at the same time as a community first responder and doctor.

He added that the ambulance then took him to the wrong part of Cheltenham General Hospital because it had come from Warwickshire and its driver was unfamiliar with the site.

Mr Corker fears the Great Western Ambulance Service (GWAS) took so long to respond because ambulances dispatched to emergencies in rural areas cannot get patients to hospital in time for GWAS to meet its performance targets, resulting in the service failing to get Government money.

He said the service probably gave a higher priority to call-outs in closer areas, such as Cheltenham, as these can be dealt with more quickly. “ It’s inevitable if the Government chases performance with money,” said Mr Corker, who has recovered. The service confirmed a paramedic who attended had responded as soon as he cleared a previous 999 call.

Philip de Bruyn, GWAS’s Gloucestershire locality director, apologised for the delay.

Mr de Bruyn said the incident received the highest priority because 999 calls are categorised by the nature of the emergency and not by location.

Saying the ambulance was dispatched from Cirencester, he added: “At the time, the service was dealing with a high volume of incidents. The fact that a police officer and a former ambulance clinician were present almost certainly helped save Mr Corker’s life.”

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