Peer accuses 999 call handler of wasting time as wife lay dying in his arms

A leading scientist has revealed how he faced a “litany of questions” after calling for an ambulance as his wife lay dying in his arms.

Fertility expert and Labour peer Lord Winston spoke of the deeply traumatic experience as the House of Lords heard that “thousands” of people were dying because of delays to the arrival of paramedics.

Speaking in the chamber, he said such a “waste of time” was critical when seconds count in dealing with a cardiac arrest.

He said: “Some months ago, as my wife lay dying in my arms, I phoned the 999 service.

“The man answering the call asked me a litany of questions and asked me to count her number of heartbeats per minute.

“That waste of time is critical. With a cardiac arrest you have only a few seconds.

“I had to interrupt the cardiac massage that I was giving my wife until the emergency services arrived, but, of course, they had not been called yet.”

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The renowned broadcaster said it was “obvious” the caller “had not been trained to ask the right questions”.

The delays have been blamed on hold-ups in being able to hand patients over and getting ambulances back on the road to answer new calls – meaning people calling 999 wait longer than they should.

Lord Winston urged ministers to improve standards following the sudden death of Lady Winston, 72, at their home in December last year.

He asked health minister Lord Kamall to assure the House there is proper training for callers handling these critical situations.

“It is highly dangerous and that makes it very difficult,” he said.

“The last thing we hear as we die is usually the voice of someone who is with us,” he added.

Lord Kamall thanked him for sharing his story and said “clearly, there are too many incidents of this kind”.

He added: “Probably in that case the person was trained to ask particular questions to ascertain how serious or urgent it was but, clearly, that was inappropriate. I will take that case back to the department and see whether I can get some answers.”

Raising the issue of ambulance handover delays, Labour peer and former BBC governor Lord Young of Norwood Green highlighted the case of another member whose son had to wait nearly six hours for emergency assistance after suffering a stroke.

He said: “People are dying as we sit in this chamber, literally thousands of them. Why? Because paramedics are waiting with trolleys in hospitals for a bed.”

He added: “Yet, still we do not seem to treat this as a matter of urgency.

“It is a national disgrace and I want an assurance from the minister that real action is to be taken.”

Responding, Lord Kamall pointed to an NHS action plan for urgent and emergency care, which included paramedics, the recruitment and retention of staff, and more space in A&E departments.

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