‘High time’ for an ambulance review
Hayden Middleton
CALLS have been made for an investigation into emergency service response times in Derbyshire after the death of a teenager in Ilkeston.
Stanley villager Hayden Middleton, 19, died in December last year after a collision in Hallam Fields Road.
Last month, his mother Mandy Middleton blasted the emergency services after Hayden had to wait nearly 30 minutes for an ambulance to arrive and 40 minutes for the police.
Derbyshire county councillor for Kirk Hallam Michelle Booth has this week said she is hoping ‘some robust questions’ can be asked of East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) after she raised the issue with the authority’s health and adult care improvement and scrutiny committee.
“I have had broken sleep thinking about what happened to that young man,” she said.
“I will always remember that he was waiting too long.
“It’s high time for some robust questions to see where EMAS are going and how they are allocating their priorities.
“If they are not managing their budget properly, that needs to be looked into.”
She added that she believes Hayden’s is not an isolated case.
County councillor for New Mills Beth Atkins has backed the calls after a woman in her ward allegedly nearly died having had to wait an hour for an ambulance.
Both councillors have approached chair of the committee Cllr Gill Farrington about the situation who haas told Cllr Booth she will look into the possibility of an investigation.
Mrs Middleton said: “What does it take for something to be done? Does somebody else have to die in the same situation as Hayden?
“It’s time to wake up and smell the coffee – this situation needs to be addressed.”
Cllr Booth advised anyone who needs to make a formal complaint about emergency response times to contact the Patient Advisory Liaison Service (PALS).
The PALS team in Derbyshire can be contacted on 0800 032 32 35.
“I urge people to report to this service so that matters can be properly logged and failures quickly identified and remedied,” she added.
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Weather for Ilkeston
Friday 25 May 2012
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Temperature: 11 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
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Temperature: 11 C to 22 C
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