Health

Ambulance error admitted in 999 call before Pembrokeshire mother’s death

Published

2 years ago

September 15, 2024

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.

Health

Corridor care data should be published in Wales, says nursing union

Published

17 hours ago

June 11, 2026

Tom Sinclair

RCN Wales says patients are being left in chairs and hospital corridors for hours as England begins releasing national figures

WALES is being urged to begin publishing hospital corridor care data after England released its first national figures exposing the scale of patients being treated in inappropriate spaces.

RCN Wales said the Welsh Government cannot properly tackle unsafe care if it is not routinely measured or publicly reported.

The call follows the publication of corridor care data by NHS England, which RCN Wales said provides a clearer picture of the scale of the issue in English hospitals for the first time.

The union is calling for the Welsh Government to publish monthly corridor care data by health board, agree a national data set, and release the first figures as soon as possible.

‘Unsafe and unacceptable’

Nicola Williams, Executive Director of RCN Wales, said: “Today’s publication of corridor care data in England demonstrates why transparency matters. We cannot tackle a problem we do not fully understand and are not measuring.

“Corridor care is unsafe, undignified and unacceptable. Nurses across Wales have repeatedly raised concerns about patients being treated in inappropriate spaces because of pressures on the health and care system.”

Ms Williams said she had recently visited a number of hospitals in Wales where she saw patients in chairs, on trolleys in corridors, and squeezed into overcrowded areas not designed for patient care.

She said some patients had been there for well over 12 hours.

She added: “There was one consistent feature which was the look of fear in patients’ eyes as they watched the continual movement and activity going on loudly in very close proximity to them.

“These patients were mainly in gowns with no privacy, no dignity, no space and no confidentiality.”

‘Now normalised’

RCN Wales said nurses had reported that corridor care had become normalised in some hospital settings.

Ms Williams said staff were going home after shifts knowing they had not been able to give patients the care they deserved.

She said: “Nurses told me this is now normalised, happens every day and staff cannot care adequately for patients, which is causing harm and distress to patients, and significantly affecting nurses’ morale.”

In the Senedd on Tuesday (June 2), Health and Care Cabinet Secretary Mabon ap Gwynfor described corridor care as an unsafe practice and said tackling it was a priority.

RCN Wales said it welcomed that recognition but said the next step must be proper measurement and public reporting.

Ms Williams said: “Without consistent national and organisation-wide data, it is impossible to establish the true scale of the problem, identify trends, target resources effectively or measure progress over time.”

Call for national reviews

RCN Wales is also calling for the publication of two national reviews into healthcare capacity, alongside policy recommendations for action.

The union said understanding the relationship between capacity pressures and corridor care would be essential if the practice was to be eliminated.

Ms Williams added: “This is not about collecting statistics for their own sake. It is about establishing a baseline against which improvement can be measured and ensuring accountability for delivering safer care for patients.

“Nursing staff have been warning about the dangers of corridor care for years. Patients deserve care delivered in safe and appropriate clinical environments, and staff deserve the resources and capacity needed to provide it.

“The publication of data in England is an important step. Wales must now follow suit and ensure we have the evidence needed to eradicate corridor care for good.”

Health

Poor housing putting pressure on NHS, Welsh Government admits

Published

1 day ago

June 10, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Ministers say unsuitable homes are worsening health and contributing to delayed hospital discharges across Wales

POOR or unsuitable housing is directly affecting people’s health and placing additional strain on NHS services in Wales, the Welsh Government has admitted, following the publication of a major new report warning of the growing health impacts of inadequate homes.

The warning comes in a new report by the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT), which argues that poor housing is worsening physical and mental health, increasing hospital readmissions and adding avoidable pressure to health and social care services.

The report says millions of people across the UK are living in homes that fail to meet their needs, with problems ranging from damp and poor accessibility to unsuitable living environments for older people and those with disabilities or long-term health conditions.

The Welsh Government acknowledged the issue when asked for comment by The Pembrokeshire Herald.

A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “Poor or unsuitable housing directly impacts people’s health and places additional pressure on NHS services.

“Delayed discharges linked to unsuitable housing are a serious concern and we are taking steps to improve patient flow and reduce delays, strengthening joint working between health, social care and housing services so people can leave hospital safely.

“This Welsh Government has been clear that housing is a public health issue, which is why we are aligning action across government, including through dedicated ministerial oversight, to create a healthier population.

“We are also strengthening adaptation services to support independent living and prevent avoidable admissions and are establishing a new national development body to speed up delivery of accessible social homes.”

The RCOT report argues there is little point discharging patients from hospital if they are returning to homes that worsen their condition or fail to meet their needs. It also highlights growing concerns around delayed hospital discharges, accessibility and an ageing population.

In west Wales, Hywel Dda University Health Board said housing and wider living conditions have a significant effect on health outcomes.

James Severs, Executive Director of Allied Health Professions and Health Science at Hywel Dda University Health Board, said: “Most of what determines our health and well-being sits beyond the NHS. While healthcare is vital, it is the conditions in which people live, learn, work and age that have the greatest impact on health outcomes. As a Health Board, we recognise that the NHS contributes only a proportion of overall population health, with wider factors such as housing, education, employment and the environment playing a much larger role.

“This is why our strategy for ‘A Healthier Mid and West Wales’ is focused on moving beyond an illness-centred model of care to one that prioritises prevention, early intervention and support in communities. We are committed to working in partnership with local authorities, the third sector and our communities to address these wider determinants of health, reduce inequalities and enable people to live healthier lives, well lived.”

The report states that almost half of adults in Wales are already living with long-term health conditions and warns that failing to address poor housing could place increasing pressure on already stretched services.

The Pembrokeshire Herald has approached Pembrokeshire County Council for comment.

Health

Nurses’ union warns Wales must not lose new recruits after FM job guarantee row

Published

2 days ago

June 10, 2026

Tom Sinclair

THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF NURSING WALES has warned that Wales “cannot afford” to lose newly qualified nurses after the First Minister refused to give a direct guarantee that student nurses would be given jobs in NHS Wales.

The row followed First Minister’s Questions on Tuesday (Jun 9), when Reform Wales leader Dan Thomas MS asked Rhun ap Iorwerth whether he would guarantee jobs for student nurses when they graduate.

Mr Thomas said it was unacceptable for newly qualified nurses, doctors and paramedics to struggle to find work while the NHS remained under pressure.

The First Minister did not give a direct yes or no answer, but said workforce planning was a “core part” of the Welsh Government’s health strategy.

He told the Senedd: “Putting a robust plan in place to make sure that people who have decided to devote themselves to careers in nursing or medicine or the allied health professions is a core part of our delivery of a workforce strategy.

“That is why my Cabinet Minister for Health and Care has already begun the work of ensuring that we are able to support students to have careers within the NHS.”

Following the exchange, RCN Wales Executive Director Nicola Williams said the union welcomed the First Minister’s recognition of the importance of helping nurses build their futures in Wales.

But she said nursing students had invested years of hard work, commitment and personal sacrifice to qualify.

She said: “At a time when Wales continues to face nursing workforce shortages and increasing demand on health services, it is essential that newly registered nurses are able to secure employment and put their skills into practice.

“RCN Wales has consistently raised concerns about reports of graduate nurses struggling to find substantive posts following qualification. This is not only deeply worrying for those individuals, but also represents a missed opportunity for the NHS to retain talented professionals at the beginning of their careers.”

Ms Williams said RCN Wales would seek assurances at a forthcoming workforce summit that a clear and sustainable plan would be developed to support newly registered nurses into employment.

She added: “Wales cannot afford to lose skilled, motivated nurses at the point they enter the profession.”

Mr Thomas said after FMQs: “Our health service is in desperate need of qualified staff. It is unacceptable that newly qualified nurses, doctors and paramedics are being told to find work outside of Wales.

“I was disappointed that the First Minister could not commit to ensuring these hardworking, qualified professionals can move into the frontline roles our NHS so desperately needs to fill.”

The issue comes amid wider concerns about NHS workforce planning in Wales, with unions warning that a failure to create enough entry-level posts risks losing newly trained staff just as services face growing pressure.