Some failings in response to calls for an ambulance and subsequent complaint handling

What happened

The calls for an ambulance were made on behalf of Ms J's now deceased mother. Ms J complained that during both incidents the ambulance response from the Trust was too long. Ms J was unhappy with the Trust's response to her complaint. Ms J wanted the Trust to acknowledge the impact of the delays, learn from its mistakes and compensate her for the grief it caused and its complaint handling.

What we found

There were procedural failings in the first incident. We were unable, however, to conclude that the failings led to a delay in the ambulance response time. The Trust has since made suitable improvements, but it has not told all relevant members of staff about them. The Trust's response to this part of Ms J's complaint was reasonable.

There were some failings in the second incident. While there were failings in the procedures followed, we were unable to conclude that the failings resulted in a delayed ambulance response. We found that there were failings in the Trust's complaint handling.

We partly upheld the complaint.

Putting it right

Following our report, the Trust apologised to Ms J for the failings in the second incident and the failures in complaint handling. The Trust agreed to prepare an action plan to make sure that the failings identified are not repeated.