When Mr N's housemate called 999 on his behalf, he was referred for a clinical telephone assessment instead of an ambulance being immediately sent. Mr N was not retriaged during the second 999 call.
What happened
Mr N's housemate called 999 on his behalf and reported that he was experiencing abdominal pain and vomiting. Using a software package, the emergency medical despatcher decided Mr N was a 'C4 priority', so no ambulance was necessary. The despatch system played a recorded message explaining that an ambulance might not be sent immediately and that a clinical adviser might call back to assess Mr N further so the correct help or treatment could be arranged. The despatcher made a referral to the Trust's clinical centre for a telephone assessment.
Before the telephone assessment could be done, Mr N's flatmate called 999 again. The despatcher asked if there had been any change in his condition, and Mr N's flatmate said that he was perspiring. The despatcher said that an ambulance had not been sent as one was not available for him and the ambulance service was very busy. Mr N's housemate said they would go to hospital by car. Mr N later complained that an ambulance had not been sent.
What we found
We did not uphold this complaint because the Trust had already put things right. The Trust's use of the software that allocated the priority, meaning that an ambulance was not immediately sent, was in line with relevant guidelines and with established good practice. The Trust should have retriaged Mr N when his flatmate said there had been a change in his condition. However, we did not consider this had any detrimental impact on Mr N. The second despatcher's comments about the level of activity that night amounted to a shortcoming, but we did not consider that this amounted to service failure.
London Ambulance Service NHS Trust
Greater London
Did not take sufficient steps to improve service
Not applicable