AN ERROR in handling a 999 emergency call made on Christmas Day has been admitted by the Welsh Ambulance Service Trust (WAST) at a recent inquest hearing, following the death of 40-year-old Pembrokeshire mother, Charlotte Burston.

At the pre-inquest hearing held on Friday (Sept 13), WAST acknowledged a critical mistake in responding to urgent calls for medical assistance. Representing WAST, Trish Gaskell stated, “An advanced paramedic practitioner would normally be allocated and should have been allocated to Ms Burston before she was conveyed to hospital. The trust has accepted that error.”

Deputy Coroner Mark Layton confirmed that all reports from WAST, including transcripts of the 999 calls, had been received. He announced plans to commission an independent expert to review the evidence and determine whether a different response from the ambulance service might have altered the outcome. “The expert will examine the evidence and ascertain whether a difference could have been achieved or not had the ambulance service’s response been different,” Mr Layton said.

Charlotte’s family has been left grieving after her death on New Year’s Eve, despite repeated attempts by her 15-year-old daughter, Ella, to call for medical assistance. On Christmas morning, Charlotte began experiencing severe tingling sensations in one of her arms—a potential warning sign of a cardiac event.

“I called 111 at 8:19 am; the call lasted 53 seconds, so I hung up because it was taking too long,” Ella recounted. “I then called 999 at 8:29 am, and the call lasted 41 minutes. The woman I spoke to refused to tell me how long an ambulance would take but just said that one would be arranged.”

Despite these urgent pleas, no ambulance arrived. As Charlotte’s condition worsened, Ella contacted her grandfather, Brian Laye, who lives in Clunderwen. He immediately drove to Llanteg, arriving to find his daughter drifting in and out of consciousness.

“Charlotte was lying on the sofa, struggling to breathe,” Mr Laye recalled. “We were told an ambulance wouldn’t be available for at least an hour and a half. With no time to lose, I decided to take her to Withybush Hospital myself.”

En route to the hospital, Charlotte suffered a major heart attack near Robeston Wathen. Upon arrival at Withybush General Hospital, she was placed on life support and later transferred to Morriston Hospital. Sadly, she never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead on New Year’s Eve.

A post-mortem examination concluded that the cause of death was hypoxic brain injury—a lack of oxygen to the brain resulting from the cardiac arrest.

“If an ambulance had got to Charlotte within 15 minutes of Ella’s first call, she’d still be with us today,” said Vincent Laye, the father of Charlotte’s daughters. “The pain and the grief that this has left us with is beyond explanation. Our girls have lost a mother who they relied on and who was their best friend.”

Mr Laye expressed deep frustration over what he perceives as systemic failures within the National Health Service (NHS) and WAST. “The bottom line is that the NHS has failed in providing the care that everyone pays for and that every one of us deserves,” he stated.

He added that while schools and local charities like the Sandy Bear Children’s Bereavement Charity are offering support, there has been “absolutely no support” from other authorities. “I truly believe that this awful death could have been prevented,” he said. “Somebody needs to be held accountable for what’s happened, to prevent this from happening to somebody else.”

The depth of the family’s loss was evident as over 150 people attended Charlotte’s funeral. “Our girls have lost a mother who was with them and who cared for them 24/7,” Mr Laye said. “The community around Llanteg has lost a woman who was greatly loved.”

This heartbreaking incident is not isolated. In a similar case, a man in Pembroke Dock died after reportedly waiting nine hours for an ambulance that failed to arrive in time. Despite multiple calls for help, medical assistance did not reach him promptly, leading to his untimely death.

Family members of the deceased have expressed profound grief and frustration, citing systemic issues within emergency services. “The pain we are experiencing is immeasurable,” a relative said. “No one should have to endure such a wait in an emergency.”

These successive tragedies have intensified public outcry over ambulance response times and resource allocation within WAST. Community leaders and residents are demanding urgent action to address these shortcomings to prevent further loss of life.

Liam Williams, Executive Director of Quality and Nursing at WAST, extended condolences to the Burston family. “We were deeply sorry to hear about Ms Burston’s passing and would like to extend our thoughts and condolences to her family on their sad loss,” he said. “A thorough investigation has begun, and we will be contacting Ms Burston’s family to invite them to participate in this process.”

Sonia Thompson, WAST’s Assistant Director of Operations, acknowledged the extreme pressures on the ambulance service due to wider NHS system issues. “Our ambulance service is under extreme and well-documented pressure as a result of wider system pressures across the NHS,” she noted. “We’re thinking very differently about the way we deliver services in future and are already testing some new ways of working across Wales to understand how we can relieve some of the pressure.”

The Welsh Government has stated that despite budget pressures, it is investing in same-day emergency care, extra community beds, and social care services to improve patient flow through hospitals. “We recognise the challenges faced by emergency services and are committed to supporting initiatives that enhance response times and patient care,” a spokesperson said.

Mr Laye emphasised that the issue extends beyond his family’s tragedy. “This is about every other person out there who deserves to be looked after when they are most in need,” he said. “The NHS and the local authority have failed us in a way that’s going to change our lives forever, and I’m refusing to allow this to be brushed aside.”

Local officials and healthcare advocates are calling for a thorough investigation into both cases, urging the Welsh Government to implement necessary reforms. The recurring nature of these tragedies underscores the urgent need for improved resource allocation, staffing, and operational protocols within WAST.

As the inquest proceeds, the Burston family and the wider community await answers. The repeated failures in emergency response have prompted calls for systemic reforms within WAST and the NHS in Wales. Without significant changes, the safety and well-being of the public remain at risk.

Ms Burston is survived by her two daughters, whose prompt actions highlight the critical importance of effective emergency services. The family’s plight serves as a stark reminder of the real-life consequences of systemic shortcomings in healthcare provision. Their hope is that by sharing their story, they can prevent similar tragedies from occurring in the future.

The next pre-inquest hearing is scheduled for January 17, where it is hoped that the details for the full inquest will be finalised.

A PEMBROKESHIRE man tragically died after suffering a cardiac arrest during a gruelling nine-hour wait for an ambulance. David Bye, of Hill Farm Park, Pembroke Dock, passed away in the early hours of Monday, 1st July.

His wife Pauline, in the picture with her late husband above, has described the extensive delay as “unforgivable.” The Welsh Ambulance Service revealed that on the morning Mr. Bye died, ambulances across the Hywel Dda University Health Board region spent more than 250 hours waiting outside hospitals to offload patients. This region includes Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire, and Ceredigion.

Recalling the distressing events of that night, Mrs. Bye stated, “Nine hours after falling off the bed and us calling for an ambulance someone finally came, but it was too late, and David died.” David had a long history of heart disease and lymphoedema following a triple bypass and aortic valve replacement four years ago, frequently requiring care at Withybush Hospital.

“I became very worried about David’s condition,” Mrs. Bye continued. “I rang 999 at 6pm for an ambulance but was told none were available. I rang again at midnight and was told there were still no ambulances available and to try and make David as comfortable as possible. By that point, David was still talking to me but was very confused, a worrying sign of a possible cardiac arrest.”

Despite making her husband as comfortable as possible, Mrs. Bye grew increasingly concerned. “He complained of back pain but had no other injuries. His breathing was okay, though he was clearly confused and his responses were delayed. I couldn’t lift him as he weighed 17 stone, and there were no neighbours to help me.”

As Mr. Bye’s condition worsened, Mrs. Bye made a third call to emergency services. “He slowly deteriorated, became more sleepy and stopped talking to me,” she said. “I called ambulance control again at 3.15am and the answer was the same—no ambulances available. While I was on the phone, David had a cardiac arrest. Then it all kicked off. The rapid response team arrived within minutes, followed by more responders, two fire engines, and an ambulance.”

Mrs. Bye praised the efforts of the emergency services who tried to save her husband but felt compelled to speak out about the prolonged wait. “I’m very angry about it,” she said. “I don’t like to make a fuss, but this has been a horrible experience and a huge shock. We know we live in a rural location and understand ambulances might take a little longer. I might have been able to understand a couple of hours, but to take nine hours just seems unforgivable to me—especially when as soon as he began to die, they arrived very quickly.”

The Welsh Ambulance Service cited wider systemic issues as a contributing factor to the delays. On the night and morning in question, ambulances in the region spent a total of 250 hours waiting to transfer patients into hospitals. Liam Williams, executive director of quality and nursing at the Welsh Ambulance Service, acknowledged the delay, saying, “Regrettably, poor ambulance response times are well documented and unfortunately a symptom of much broader system-wide pressures, including hospital handover delays, which impact our ability to reach patients quickly.”

He also mentioned that in July, the average response time to immediately life-threatening red calls was over eight minutes, an increase compared to pre-pandemic times when the median response ranged between four and six minutes.

Mr Williams added said: “On behalf of everyone at the Welsh Ambulance Service I would like to extend my condolences to the family of Mr Bye on their sad loss.

“This is not the standard of service we want to provide and we recognise that this is not what the public rightly expects of us.

“As a result we continue to work with health board colleagues to find local solutions to the challenges faced and we are also looking at evolving our current service model further.

“As part of this we will increase the involvement of paramedics and nurses in our clinical contact centres when patients call to help ensure that patients like Mr Bye get help quicker. I would like to invite a representative of Mr Bye to contact the trust’s Putting Things Right team so we can investigate the incident fully and offer a comprehensive response to them.

“I would once again like to extend condolences on behalf of the trust to Mr Bye’s family at this very difficult time.”

WALES’ top veterinary academic will call for a ‘paradigm shift’ in the face of global threats to animal and human health in an address at the UN later today (Monday, 16 September).  

Speaking at a scientific summit of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Professor Darrell Abernethy, Head of Wales’ School of Veterinary Science at Aberystwyth University, will say that far more needs to be done to ensure that ‘One Health’ thinking becomes ingrained.

‘One Health’ is aimed at optimising the health of people, animals and the environment, by recognising their inter-dependence and the need to have an integrated approach when solving these pressing issues.

Given challenges, like the possible spread of COVID-19 or avian influenza between animals and humans, One Health aims to bring different disciplines together to foster wellbeing and tackle threats.

In 2022, the ‘One Health Joint Plan of Action’ was published by the World Health Organisation, World Organisation for Animal Health, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and United Nations Environment Programme. This ambitious plan seeks to address global challenges through a holistic, integrated approach, but Professor Abernethy believes current structures and approaches work against such laudable goals.

He will be addressing the Science Summit for the UN Sustainable Development Goals, a prestigious event that gathers leading scientists, policymakers, industry leaders, and innovators from around the world to discuss and address global scientific challenges and opportunities.

In his speech, the Aberystwyth-based veterinary expert will discuss barriers to progressing the One Health approach from within veterinary and medical education as well as in public policy and research.

Professor Abernethy from Aberystwyth University said: “One Health needs to become the new norm and we need a paradigm shift in our ways of working to achieve that. During the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, the veterinary sector had much to offer but was largely ignored, despite huge experience in mass vaccination, disease diagnosis or population medicine. Similarly, conservation of endangered species is often seen as the preserve of ecologists and zoologists, but it has become increasingly clear that educationalists, behavioural scientists and economists are just as essential. Addressing the pressing challenges of our planet requires a breaking down of the traditional approach of government departments and educators, who unwittingly reinforce ‘we work alone’ silos, and an explicit commitment to multidisciplinary, collaborative working.

“It’s an honour to address this summit where the role and contribution of science to attaining the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals is the central theme. It is international scientific collaboration and engagement like this that is needed if we are to address the pressing problems facing our planet.”