Family of Doncaster man who died following three-hour ambulance delay call for lessons to be learned

Shaun Parks attended the A&E Department at Doncaster Royal Infirmary (DRI). Following tests, he was found to be having a heart attack.

A nurse contacted Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) to transfer Shaun to Northern General Hospital’s primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) centre in Sheffield for emergency treatment.

However, an ambulance which should have taken 40 minutes to arrive arrived more than three hours later. Shaun, of Dunscroft, was taken to Sheffield but died shortly afterwards. He was 52.

Following his death, Shaun’s loved ones including his widow Karen, aged 48, instructed expert medical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to support them through an inquest and secure answers.

An inquest, held last month, concluded a “significant delay” in Shaun receiving treatment “may have affected the outcome” and contributed to his death.

The assistant coroner, Katy Dickinson, issued a Prevention of Future Deaths report, after expressing concerns over the ambulance response time.

In the report she also outlined how there were “insufficient” emergency medical dispatchers available and that the Ambulance Service’s staffing levels were below the requirement to meet the expected demand. There was also a delay in offloading patients at hospitals, which tied up resources and prevented them being able to respond to emergency calls, the assistant coroner said.

The coroner has requested the YAS to set out what measures it will take to prevent future deaths.

Tania Harrison, the specialist medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell representing Shaun’s family, said: “Shaun’s loved ones remain devastated by his death and the circumstances surrounding it.

“Understandably, they also had a number of questions and concerns in the lead up to the inquest. Not knowing all the facts about what happened to Shaun just added to their grief.

“While nothing will ever make up for the pain the family has been through, the inquest has been a major milestone in being able to provide them with vital answers they deserve.

“Sadly, the inquest identified worrying issues in the care provided to Shaun regarding a delay in his ambulance transfer.

“It’s now vital, following the coroner’s concerns, that all lessons possible are learned to improve patient safety.”

Shaun attended DRI at around midnight on 12 December 2022. An ambulance was booked at 3.06am to transfer Shaun to Northern General Hospital.

The inquest was told that the ambulance should have taken 40 minutes at the latest to arrive. However, it arrived at DRI at 6.29am, a delay of three hours and 18 minutes, the inquest heard. It arrived at Northern General Hospital at 7.15am.

During this time, Shaun’s condition had deteriorated. He died during a medical procedure at 10.17am.

Shaun, a carer, had been married to Karen for 23 years. He had three sons, Brandon, 25, Kierran, 22, and Tony, 28, and a daughter, Samantha, 29. He had six grandchildren, with another on the way.

Karen said: “Shaun was a wonderful husband, dad, and grandad, and the impact his death has had on the family has been significant. There’s not a day goes by where we don’t miss him.

“He was idolised by his grandchildren and it’s devastating that he’ll never meet our other grandchild on the way.

“When Shaun was in hospital, I was constantly watching the clock and praying for the ambulance to turn up. He died not long after he arrived at Northern General Hospital, and our children didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye to him. That’s what hurts the most.

“It’s now more than a year since we lost Shaun but it feels like time has stood still, particularly because we had so many questions over what happened that day.

“While we would love Shaun back in our lives, we know that’s not possible. The inquest and reliving what happened was particularly distressing but we take some comfort from at least now having answers as to why he died.

“All we can hope for now is that the ambulance service makes the improvements needed to help prevent other families from suffering like we have.”