NEWS

 

 

 

Home
Interests
NEWS
Photo Gallery
Press Releases
TRIBUTES
VERSES
WOOD GREEN

 

Islington Gazette

AMBULANCE WITHOUT PARAMEDIC 'NORMAL'

Teen died after emergency response told mother they couldn't give full treatment

July 25 2006

AN EPILEPTIC teenager died after waiting 30 minutes for an ambulance that turned up with no paramedics on board.

The family of 15-year-old Kayleigh Macilwraith-Christie said she was not given vital treatment until she reached hospital 45 minutes after she first started fitting.

But the London Ambulance Service says it is normal for ambulances to be staffed by technicians who cannot give a full range of treatment.

An investigation is now under way.

Mum Jean Murphy, 46, said: "Nothing is going to bring Kayleigh back. But if something like this happened to another child, I would feel so guilty if I could have done something to prevent it."

Ingrid Burns, of charity Epilepsy Action, added: "The mother knew what was needed but these needs were not met. There should have been paramedics on board."

Kayleigh started fitting on July 14 and, at 6.52pm, Ms Murphy called 999 to their home on the Market Estate off North Road, Holloway.

An emergency medical technician arrived in a fast response car four minutes later - meeting the government's eight-minute target.

But the ambulance did not arrive until at least 7.22pm and only had emergency medical technicians on board.

Ms Murphy presumed Kayleigh would be treated with a certain type of drug but the crew said this was not possible as they were not paramedics.

The distraught mum, who even begged to give the drug herself, said: "I have called the ambulance for Kayleigh 10 times, if not more. There has always been a paramedic on board.

"There were three of them and not one of them was a trained paramedic. Why call an ambulance if they can't do anything?"

Doctors at The Whittington Hospital, Archway, were unable to save the teenager.

Kayleigh had slight special needs and was a pupil at Stormont House School, Hackney, a special school for children with a wide range of conditions.

On the day she died, she had received a glowing school report and been told she could sit GCSE exams. A few days before, she had won a best-pupil award.

Kayleigh also volunteered at Lumpy Hill Adventure Playground in Market Road, Holloway, which she had attended as a child.

Ms Murphy said: "She had her whole life before her. She never let her illness beat her and would have wanted to work with children.

"She was my world. She was supposed to be going to Majorca with me on my birthday in August. I am taking her anyway. She wanted to go swimming and I am going to scatter her ashes in the sea."

The London Ambulance Service employs 1,665 emergency medical technicians and 825 paramedics.

Ambulances can be staffed by technician-only crews, who are trained in urgent pre-hospital care but cannot carry out procedures such as administering drugs directly into the bloodstream.

A spokeswoman for the ambulance service said: "Our thoughts are with her family at this very sad time.

"We are currently conducting an investigation into our handling of this incident.

"We will be contacting the family and sharing our findings with them as soon as we can."   

Islington Gazette

 

 IDON'T WANT THIS HAPPENING AGAIN

August 17 2006

DISTRAUGHT mum Jean Murphy is this week fighting for justice after her epileptic daughter's death.

She is campaigning to prevent other youngsters suffering the same fate as 15-year-old Kayleigh Macilwraith-Christie.

As the Gazette has revealed, Kayleigh had to wait at least 30 minutes for an ambulance - which turned up with no paramedic on board.

The crew of emergency medical technicians could not administer the potentially life-saving muscle relaxant.

Kayleigh's family said she did not get vital drugs until she reached hospital at least 45 minutes after she started fitting.

But the London Ambulance Service, which is carrying out an investigation, employs 1,665 emergency medical technicians and only 825 paramedics - and says it is normal for ambulances to have technician-only crews.

Ms Murphy, 46, who lives on the Market Estate off North Road, Holloway, has started a petition to get paramedics on all London ambulances.

She said: "Everybody I've spoken to, including the doctor's surgery, assumes there's a paramedic on board every ambulance.

"My daughter's life was lost because there wasn't. I don't want anything like this happening again.

"Paramedics themselves are telling me to do this. They are saying that the situation is dangerous."

Ms Murphy, who got about 300 signatures in the first two days alone, wants to get at least 7,000 in the hope that it will be discussed in parliament.

Her campaign is being backed by the Market Estate Tenants and Residents' Association.

Chairwoman Sharon Jobe said: "We will back Jean. We don't want another child dying."

Pressure group London Health Emergency has also expressed its support.

Head of campaigns Geoff Martin said: "Ambulances should be fully equipped with the equipment and staff to deal with all eventualities. It's logical commonsense, particularly bearing in mind the pressure on accident and emergency departments."

If you want to sign the petition, it will be outside Morrisons at the Nag's Head Shopping Centre in Holloway Road, Holloway, between 10.30am and 2pm on Saturday, August 19.

Islington Gazette

 

HITTING TARGETS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN PATIENTS

August 17 2006

A PARAMEDIC claims ambulance chiefs are more concerned about targets than patients.

The medic, speaking out after the death of 15-year-old Kayleigh Macilwraith-Christie, said better care may have saved her life.

The London Ambulance Service still met its eight-minute target because they claim a fast response car turned up in just four minutes - even though the car's emergency medical technician could neither give Kayleigh the vital drug nor take her to hospital.

It has now emerged that an ambulance - believed to have had a paramedic on board - had been on its way to Kayleigh's home on the Market Estate off North Road but had to stop for an unconscious man who had suffered multiple injuries in a road accident. Another crew was dispatched to Kayleigh.

The paramedic, who did not give his name for fear of losing his job, said: "The most important thing was to get her to hospital as soon as possible. Thirty minutes is far too long.

"If the girl had got an ambulance with a paramedic on board within eight minutes, she would have stood a better chance. She would have been given the muscle relaxant Diazepam that could have stopped her fitting."

Pointing out that the only thing the emergency medical technicians could give was oxygen, he said: "We believe fast response cars are simply there to meet government targets. The car can't take the patient to hospital and the emergency medical technician in the car can only give basic treatment."

The London Ambulance Service met Kayleigh's family to reassure them that the case is being taken seriously.

A spokeswoman said: "We aim to reach every patient in a life-threatening condition as quickly as possible, whether in an ambulance or a fast response car. In general, fast response cars arrive on scene more quickly. These staff play a crucial role in being able to treat and stabilise patients until an ambulance arrives."

Islington Gazette
 

Thousands sign Kayleigh petition

30 August 2006
THOUSANDS of people have come on board to support a campaign in memory of tragic teenager Kayleigh Macilwraith-Christie.

One famous face to have joined the fight is Jimmi Harkishin, better known as Dev Alahan in Coronation Street.

Kayleigh's mum Jean Murphy is waging a campaign to get paramedics on all London ambulances.

This comes after it took an ambulance at least half-an-hour to get to the fitting epileptic teenager - and when the ambulance arrived, there was no paramedic on board.

As revealed in the Gazette, the crew of emergency medical technicians were unable to administer the muscle relaxant that could have saved Kayleigh's life.

But the London Ambulance Service, which launched an investigation after Kayleigh's death on July 14, employs 1,665 emergency medical technicians and only 825 paramedics - and says it is normal for ambulances to have technician-only crews.

A distraught Ms Murphy, 47, has just returned from taking Kayleigh's ashes to Majorca - where the pair had been due to go on holiday.

She is trying to get 7,000 people to sign her petition in the hope that it will be discussed in parliament. So far, about 3,800 people have put their names down.

Sharon Jobe, chairwoman of the Market Estate Tenants' and Residents' Association, which is backing Ms Murphy, said: "We got 1,660 signatures at the Nag's Head, Holloway, and 1,000 in six-and-a-half hours in Wood Green. People think you are selling something and just walk past.

"But Dev from Coronation Street signed the petition in Wood Green. And several doctors are willing to help."

Mr Harkishin spent about half-an-hour encouraging passers by to put down their names, saying they could take his photo if they did.

Ms Jobe added: "Jean is very stressed although she seems to be holding up. She had to get six lots of permission to get Kayleigh's ashes on the plane. She was going to scatter them in the sea, which Kayleigh loved."

If you wish to sign the petition, head to the Angel, Islington, on Saturday (September 2). The petition team will be by Sainsbury's or by the Liverpool Road entrance to the N1 Centre between 11am and 4pm. On Saturday, September 9, they will be at Camden Town tube station between 11am and 4pm.

People are also asked to return any sheets they have

Mum's paramedic petition gathers pace

  28th September 2006

Kayleigh

nlnews@archant.co.uk
 

MORE than 8,000 people are now backing a campaign in memory of tragic teenager Kayleigh Macilwraith-Christie.

Kayleigh's mother Jean Murphy, of the Market Estate, Holloway, recently launched a petition to get paramedics on all London ambulances - and is planning to present it to Prime Minister Tony Blair.

The campaign was launched after it took an ambulance at least half-an-hour to get to fitting epileptic Kayleigh - and when it arrived, there was no paramedic on board.

As first revealed in the Gazette, the crew of emergency medical technicians were unable to administer the muscle relaxant that could have saved the 15-year-old's life.

But the London Ambulance Service, which launched an investigation following Kayleigh's death on July 14, employs 1,665 emergency medical technicians and only 825 paramedics - and says it is normal for ambulances to have technician-only crews. Ms Murphy, 47, recently returned from scattering Kayleigh's ashes in Majorca - where they had been due to go on holiday.

So far, 8,500 people, including doctors, nurses and celebrities such as Coronation Street actor Jimmi Harkishin, who plays Dev Alahan, have signed the petition.

Ms Murphy is now planning to take it to 10 Downing Street on November 24 - on what would have been Kayleigh's 16th birthday. By that time, she hopes to have gathered at least 10,000 signatures.

Sharon Jobe, chairwoman of the Market Estate Tenants' and Residents' Association, which is backing Ms Murphy, said: "This is not an isolated case. We have had people coming up to us and saying, 'This happened to my relative. There wasn't a paramedic on board'."

She added: "The Government has got to start taking this seriously.

Islington Gazette

 

Dying Kayleigh 'let down by errors'

nlnews@archant.co.uk
25 October 2006
Children release balloons in Kayleigh’s memory
Children release balloons in Kayleigh’s memory

Picture courtesy of Islington Gazette

A DYING 15-year-old girl in need of an ambulance was let down by a "catalogue of errors".

An ambulance service investigation has revealed that fitting epileptic teenager Kayleigh Macilwraith-Christie failed to receive care that could have saved her life.

Martin Nilan, 40, the partner of Kayleigh's devastated mum, said: "We feel this was a disastrous catalogue of errors. But they have never put their hands up and said sorry."

Kayleigh's mum called 999 shortly after 6.50pm on July 14 after the teenager started fitting.

But it took an ambulance at least half-an-hour to turn up and it was crewed by three emergency medical technicians. There were no paramedics.

Kayleigh, who did not get to hospital until at least 40 minutes after she started fitting, could not be saved.

On Sunday, children released balloons in Kayleigh's memory at Lumpy Hill Adventure Playground in Market Road, Holloway - where the teenager used to be a volunteer.

The probe this week revealed that there was a series of problems:

* A fast response car was immediately dispatched but went to the wrong floor.

* Staff tried to dispatch an ambulance but a computer fault caused a delay.

* Kayleigh's ambulance, which had a paramedic on board, had to stop for a 16-year-old unconscious.

* The fast response driver was told Kayleigh's ambulance had been cancelled for a higher priority.

* Another ambulance was dispatched at 7.14pm - but was not told she was having a prolonged seizure.

* The sat nav system directed the ambulance to the wrong estate.

* The crew told Ms Murphy that all they could give was oxygen because they were not paramedics.

* Control room staff had no way to know which vehicles had paramedics.

Mum Jean Murphy, 47, of the Market Estate off North Road, Holloway, launched Kayleigh's petition to get paramedics on all London ambulances.

She has gathered about 10,000 signatures and will submit them to 10 Downing Street on November 24, when Kayleigh would have turned 16.

Ms Murphy said: "The worst thing was waiting for an ambulance that never came and when it did come, it may as well have been a taxi.

Martin McTigue, the ambulance operations manager for Islington, said: "I would be the first to say that we didn't offer an appropriate response.

"We have to learn lessons from this. But we don't need more paramedics - we need to respond appropriately."

A new system means the service will know which vehicles have paramedics, and it has been decided that patients having a prolonged fit need a paramedic.

The service's medical director is also calling for technicians to be able to administer drugs.

A meeting is set to take place to collect signatures at the Corporation of London Nursery in York Way, Holloway, at 7.30pm on November 14. Call Sharon Jobe on 07944 081 243.
Islington Gazette

 

Net boost for tragic teen's paramedic petition

08 November 2006
A WEBSITE has been launched to help boost a petition in memory of a teenager who died after being let down by the ambulance service.

The site means people can back the campaign by signing the petition online.

As revealed in the Gazette, 15-year-old Kayleigh Macilwraith-Christie did not receive an ambulance until at least half-an-hour after she started fitting back in July.

Then when the ambulance finally arrived to her home on the Market Estate off North Road, Holloway, it had no paramedics on board.

Kayleigh did not get to hospital until about 45 minutes after she started fitting and could not be saved.

The London Ambulance Service said it was normal to have technician-only ambulance crews. An investigation also revealed a series of errors.

Kayleigh's devastated mum, Jean Murphy, 47, is campaigning to get paramedics on all London ambulances.

She is organising a demonstration in Parliament Square and Whitehall on November 24, when Kayleigh would have turned 16.

That day she will also be presenting the petition, which so far has more than 10,000 signatures, to 10 Downing Street.

To sign the petition, log on to www.kayleighmc.co.uk.

Islington Gazette

Kayleigh 999 protest goes to Number 10

29 November 2006
Jean Murphy, mother of Kayleigh Macilwraith-Christie presents the petition at the door of Number 10
Jean Murphy, mother of Kayleigh Macilwraith-Christie presents the petition at the door of Number 10
A TRAGIC teenager's mum has taken her fight to the top.

Campaigning Jean Murphy presented a petition with more than 15,000 signatures to 10 Downing Street on Friday. She also held a 50-strong demonstration in Whitehall in a bid to get Prime Minister Tony's Blair's attention.

Ms Murphy, 48, of the Market Estate off North Road, Holloway, launched her campaign in memory of daughter Kayleigh Macilwraith-Christie.

Kayleigh would have turned 16 on Friday. But the 15-year-old died on July 14 after a series of ambulance service errors meant she did not get hospital treatment until she had been having an epileptic fit for 45 minutes.

When an ambulance finally came, there were no paramedics on board. The crew of three emergency medical technicians did not have the qualifications to give Kayleigh vital muscle relaxant Diazepam, which could have saved her life.

An ambulance service investigation revealed a host of problems that night. The fast response car at first went to the wrong flat; a computer glitch meant there was a delay in dispatching an ambulance; Kayleigh's ambulance had to stop for an accident; the replacement ambulance had to be flagged down by Ms Murphy after going to the wrong estate; and control room staff had no way of knowing which ambulances had paramedics on board.

The ambulance service has since made changes. It has been decided that patients having a prolonged fit need a paramedic, while a new system will show what type of staff are on each vehicle. But Ms Murphy is calling for paramedics on board all London ambulances.

Speaking at the entrance to Downing Street, she said: "I am pleased so many people signed the petition and came along today. I'm hoping to improve the ambulance service. They should look at this petition and take it seriously."

Her partner Martin Nilan, 40, of Summerhill Road, Tottenham, added: "When you have a 15,000-strong petition, it shows there is a lot of concern for the issue. About 90 per cent of the people who signed didn't know that there weren't paramedics on all ambulances."

Ms Murphy is being supported in her campaign by the MP for Islington South and Finsbury, Emily Thornberry.

Ms Thornberry, who helped present the petition, said: "I have a child of 15. This could happen to anybody. This girl's death has got to make some sense.

"We have got to make sure we can improve things. Jean and I will see what we are going to do. We can ask questions of the Prime Minister and of the Secretary of State."

She said the Prime Minister would be writing to her about the petition and that she would forward a copy of his letter to the petition's signatories.

Ward councillor Barry Edwards, also at the demonstration, added: "In the same way that the death of Victoria Climbie led to the reorganisation of social services, this will lead to the reorganisation of the ambulance service and something good will come out of what's happened.

 

 

Daily Express
Sunday, Jan 07, 2007

 

Ambulance shake-up 'kills 12'

07/01/07

By James Murray anmd David Paul

PATIENTS are dying because of savage cuts and huge upheavals in the ambulance service.

A Sunday Express investigation reveals today that the deaths of 12 patients are being linked to changes in how 999 crews respond to calls.

Now whistleblowers fear that more victims will die unless Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt takes emergency action to sort out the escalating crisis.

Two central issues are raising alarm bells. Firstly, more and more single-crew, fast-response cars – instead of two-crew ambulances – are being sent out
on category A call-outs where patients can be on the brink of death.

This is to ensure that ambulance controllers meet Government targets of arriving within eight minutes of a 999 call.

But now it is feared that staff in the cars do not provide the best care at the scene and simply do not compare with two-crew teams.

Secondly, for the first time, ambulance teams have to take meal breaks of up to 45 minutes. These are ruled compulsory under EU law but are actually subject to local negotiation.

Before, crews took breaks when and where they could during shifts so that they were always available for calls.

The result is that controllers now often have to hunt around to find available crews and cannot always send the team geographically closest to the patient needing urgent help.

Our investigation reveals a catalogue of worrying cases we have uncovered in a public service which is now itself in need of emergency treatment.

In the North-east, five deaths have been investigated in the past 18 months. In all the cases, ambulances from stations nearest the patients were not sent because staff were taking the new meal breaks.

The London Ambulance Service has also launched an investiga-tion into the death of Frederick Summers, 71, who collapsed in a bookmakers in north London on New Year’s Eve. It took 48 minutes to get him to hospital – too late to save him.

Last night friends of Mr Summers criticised the London Ambulance Service for the delay.

Sheldon Trevatt, 45, who comforted Mr Summers until help arrived, said: “I think it’s disgusting. I could have walked from the hospital with all the medical equipment quicker than the ambulance got here.

“There really should be a Government inquiry into why it took so long. It took about 10 minutes for the paramedics to arrive and another 30 minutes before the ambulance turned up.

“Fred was alive while the paramedic was with him. It was only when the ambulance arrived that they had to start trying to resuscitate him.”

Peter Discoll, 51, who was also in the shop when Mr Summers collapsed, said: “What upsets me is we don’t know if that extra half an hour before the ambulance arrived cost him his life.

“The paramedic was screaming down a mobile phone for an ambulance.”

A London Ambulance Service spokesman said: “Our sympathies are with the patient’s family and we are now looking into the full circumstances of what happened.”

The Sunday Express can also reveal another incident on New Year’s Eve which paints a disturbing picture of the service.

During the afternoon, office worker Michelle Kaniuk, 41, was thrown from her horse at an indoor arena in south London. After being driven to her Wimbledon home, she began to suffer blurred vision and felt groggy and concussed.

A GP arrived at the house and called an ambulance just after 11pm, fearing that she could be suffering from bleeding on the brain and slip into a coma.

But an ambulance did not arrive for a further eight hours until 7am on New Year’s Day.

Michelle said: “I felt very frightened because I couldn’t see properly and I was worried about falling into a coma while on my own.

“I feel very let down by the service. If I had suffered a serious head injury I dread to think what could have happened. I could have died in that eight-hour period.”

London Ambulance operations director Martin Flaherty apologised for the delay, blaming it on the volume of calls that night, and claimed the service has a good record.

But an insider with years of experience of front-line service told the Sunday Express that Michelle’s experience was not unusual.

She said: “Delays are commonplace these days, with real threats to patients’ lives.

“We are concerned about four deaths since new working conditions aimed at saving money were introduced on December 11.

“We know controllers are concerned about these deaths but so far there have been no internal investigations. These are separate to the death of the pensioner in north London.

“They have cut overtime and pushed us to the limit and the cracks are showing. More people will die.”

Across the country, anger among ambulance staff is rising over what they see as a creeping attempt to destroy what was once a cornerstone service of the NHS.

Morale is plunging as crews are increasingly berated by the public who believe they should arrive faster at emergencies.

The ambulance service across England has been reorganised into 13 trusts which rely on a patchwork of local deals struck with 999 crews to work during meal breaks.

Some staff are being paid £1,500 a year if they agree to have rest periods which can be interrupted by emergency call-outs, and others get £20 a time, while many more just refuse to leave their ambulance stations.

Controllers are forced to play a deadly game of chess with patients’ lives every time they clock on for work, according to a paramedic working in the North-east.

He turned whistleblower to claim that people in the area covered by the North-East Ambulance Service, which ranges from the Scottish Borders to North Yorkshire, have already died because of the meal breaks dispute.

“It is an absolute disgrace which has resulted in many deaths and prolonged suffering,” he said. “The controllers are powerless to do anything but to mobilise another crew, which could be miles away.”

The paramedic described the new working rules as a “comedy of errors that unfolds on a daily basis”.

NEAS spokesman Mark Cotton confirmed that five people have died in the past 18 months at locations when the nearest 999 crew to the scene did not respond because they were on meal breaks. Each incident has been investigated.

“We have not been deemed to be clinically negligent in any of these incidents,” said Mr Cotton.

* Is our safety being put at risk to save money? Comment NOW at Have Your Say.
 

 
 
 
 
Ambulance shake-up 'kills 12'

 

Thousands sign ambulance petition

The family of an epileptic teenager who died after an seizure has secured over 10,000 signatures on their petition to put paramedics on all ambulances.

Jean Murphy will deliver the petition to Downing Street on 24 November, which should have been her daughter, Kayleigh's, 16th birthday.

Kayleigh Macilwraith-Christie (15) died after an ambulance arrived with emergency medical technicians who were not qualified to give her the medication that could have saved her life.

* To sign the petition visit: www.kayleighmc.co.uk

 
People.co.uk logo
30 July 2006
999 TRAGEDY OF TEENAGER

A GIRL who suffered an epileptic fit died after an ambulance arrived with no paramedic on board.

Kayleigh Macilwraith- Christie, 15, did not get an injection until she reached hospital, 45 minutes after her first fit.

Heartbroken mum Jean Murphy, 46, from Holloway, North London, said: "She had her whole life before her."

The ambulance was manned by medical technicians who are not trained to inject drugs.

The London Ambulance Service is investigating

 

 

Union backs calls for more paramedics

October 2006

A union has backed calls for funding to train more paramedics, after the death of a teenager with epilepsy.

Kayleigh Macilwraith-Christie, aged 15, from north London, died after an ambulance arrived without a paramedic to give her the injection that might have saved her life (DN Extra, September, page 2).

She did not receive the drug she needed until she reached the hospital 50 minutes after her first seizure, on 14 July. Sam Oestreicher, of UNISON, said unions and bosses were working on a plan to train 2,000 more paramedics across England, but such a move would cost money.

Kayleigh's family and friends have started a petition* to persuade MPs to debate the issue and have secured 5,800 names.

 

    • www.disabilitynow.org.uk

 

   
   
 
 
 
   
   
   
  Press | National News  
   

Mum's paramedic petition gathers pace

  28th September 2006

Kayleigh

nlnews@archant.co.uk
 

MORE than 8,000 people are now backing a campaign in memory of tragic teenager Kayleigh Macilwraith-Christie.

Kayleigh's mother Jean Murphy, of the Market Estate, Holloway, recently launched a petition to get paramedics on all London ambulances - and is planning to present it to Prime Minister Tony Blair.

The campaign was launched after it took an ambulance at least half-an-hour to get to fitting epileptic Kayleigh - and when it arrived, there was no paramedic on board.

As first revealed in the Gazette, the crew of emergency medical technicians were unable to administer the muscle relaxant that could have saved the 15-year-old's life.

But the London Ambulance Service, which launched an investigation following Kayleigh's death on July 14, employs 1,665 emergency medical technicians and only 825 paramedics - and says it is normal for ambulances to have technician-only crews. Ms Murphy, 47, recently returned from scattering Kayleigh's ashes in Majorca - where they had been due to go on holiday.

So far, 8,500 people, including doctors, nurses and celebrities such as Coronation Street actor Jimmi Harkishin, who plays Dev Alahan, have signed the petition.

Ms Murphy is now planning to take it to 10 Downing Street on November 24 - on what would have been Kayleigh's 16th birthday. By that time, she hopes to have gathered at least 10,000 signatures.

Sharon Jobe, chairwoman of the Market Estate Tenants' and Residents' Association, which is backing Ms Murphy, said: "This is not an isolated case. We have had people coming up to us and saying, 'This happened to my relative. There wasn't a paramedic on board'."

She added: "The Government has got to start taking this seriously.

   
 
 
  TOP  
   
 
 
Get  Adobe Acrobat PDF Reader
 
 

 

 

Teenage girl dies after 50min wait

Ambulance

A teenager died after a series of 999 blunders meant she was left waiting 50 minutes for a life-saving injection, her mother said yesterday.

Kayleigh Christie, 15, suffered heart failure after ambulance controllers failed to send a paramedic who could give her an injection to bring her out of a severe epileptic seizure.

Despite her mother Jean Murphy pleading for a qualified paramedic, the control room sent a series of 'technicians' instead.

At first, an ambulance car was sent to the wrong address.

When it did arrive, the driver admitted he was not qualified to give the injection.

An ambulance was then dispatched but it was forced to stop at an accident scene and so never reached Kayleigh.

A controller then downgraded her case to a lesser emergency, further delaying the response.

Asecond ambulance was misdirected by its satellite navigation system.

When that vehicle finally arrived, not one of the three staff on board was qualified to provide anything other than oxygen. Although the teenager, from Islington, North London, lived only a few hundred metres from an ambulance station, the third vehicle took 35 minutes to arrive.

By the time Kayleigh eventually reached hospital, more than 50 minutes later, her heart had stopped and she could not be revived.

Ms Murphy said yesterday: 'They let my daughter down. It's too late for my daughter but I hope no one else has to go through this.'

Kayleigh's family are to deliver a petition to 10 Downing Street bearing 12,000 signatures calling for a paramedic to be sent on every emergency call-out.

The petition will be presented to Tony Blair on November 24 – the day Kayleigh would have turned 16.

Ms Murphy said: 'We want Mr Blair to realise the ambulance service is failing big time.'

A London Ambulance Service spokesman said that, despite having nearly 1,000 paramedics, it was unable to despatch one to every emergency call.

http://www.metro.co.uk/news

News

Report criticises London ambulance service

London's ambulance service is suffering from weak management, lack of staff training, high rates of absence, and poor rostering of staff, according to a new report. The report, which calls for sweeping changes to the service, provoked accusations from the Labour party that the health secretary, Virginia Bottomley, had "failed the people of London."

It was the health secretary who commissioned the report after the death in June last year of 11 year old Nasima Begum following a delay of almost one hour before an ambulance reached her. The review team, led by William Wells, chairman of South Thames Regional Health Authority, concluded that this delay was "inexcusable."

The inquiry team has called for an additional £2.7m a year for running costs for the London Ambulance Service and nearly £14m in capital investment and one off costs to modernise the service. The report also highlights the fact that "there is virtually no automation in the control room" as a result of the collapse of the service's computer aided dispatch system. It says: "The London Ambulance Service has never enjoyed the benefits of well maintained technology support in any of its areas of activity."

Even such basic requirements as the service's telephonists being able to hear callers are not being met, says the report. "The present conditions make it difficult for the call-taker to hear the correct address. Moreover, the control room is noisy and this further reduces the ability of the call-taker to hear the caller. The difficulties can be compounded if the caller does not speak English as a first language."

Mrs Bottomley responded to the report by saying that "no one can now be in any doubt about what needs to be done to improve the performance of the London Ambulance Service." But she said that any extra money would have to come from existing regional budgets. The shadow health secretary, Margaret Beckett, said that the report, which follows a previous inquiry in 1993, "highlights the same deficiencies as were reported two years ago apparently unaddressed despite close ministerial supervision."--CLAUDIA COURT, BMJ


 

News

London ambulance service needs more treatment

The London Ambulance Service is getting better but still needs more treatment, the House of Commons health committee says in a report this week, adding that it provides an object lesson in how not to manage a public service. For 10 years the management style has swung wildly between the tough and insensitive and the passivity and indecision which is still evident.

The failings of the pounds sterling107m a year service--the biggest and busiest in Britain--may well have cost lives, the MPs say. They criticise a loss of nerve after a new computer aided dispatch system collapsed in 1992. The authorities were only pushed into action two and a half years later by public outrage at the death of Nasim Begum, an 11 year old girl who died from kidney failure after waiting 53 minutes in June 1994.

In the hard hitting report blame for the "chronic under performance" of London's ambulances is traced through the chain of command up to ministers for lacking political will. A dreadful climate of industrial relations is also cited. A negative "can't do" approach has not altogether been dissipated, the MPs say.

They take issue with assumptions that London's problems are fundamentally different from those of other cities. Traffic congestion does not explain poor ambulance response times, given an eight and a half minute better response time by the fire brigade. The inappropriate use of ambulances for trivial calls could be countered by a public education campaign.

Recent increases in ambulance funding now make London slightly more favourably treated than other urban areas, but the MPs concede that this should continue so long as demand in London remains proportionately higher. They call for changes in shift and rostering arrangements and faster turnaround times at hospitals. A full scale computer aided dispatch system should be rapidly commissioned. They question the value of the helicopter emergency service.

The impending abolition of NHS regions will leave London ambulances without a pan-London authority. The MPs are worried that no contingency plans seem to exist if the London Ambulance Service is still unready to operate as a self governing trust by April 1996. The option of a special health authority should be explored.

The report suggests that criteria based dispatch may be the way of the future, but it approves the government's determination not to authorise its use until its safety and reliability have been amply demonstrated. Meanwhile, the MPs suggest that a standard response of 14 minutes should be made mandatory. They were worried to learn that purchasers were entitled to contract for a lower level of service.--JOHN WARDEN, BMJ

 

Times Online

The Times

November 07, 2006

 

Girl died waiting for life-saving Valium jab


 
Britain's largest ambulance service is calling for a change in the law to allow emergency response crews to supply a life-saving tranquilliser, after the death of a teenage girl who suffered a severe epileptic fit.

 

 
Kayleigh Macilwraith-Christie, 15, suffered heart failure earlier this year after ambulance controllers repeatedly failed to get a trained paramedic to her who could administer an injection of diazepam, better known as Valium, a Class C controlled drug.

The London Ambulance Service NHS Trust sent a series of emergency medical technicians, who are trained in advanced first aid but are not permitted to provide the tranquilliser. Further delays by the Ambulance Service meant that the teenager did not get the injection until she reached Whittington Hospital, 50 minutes after suffering the fit on July 14.

Her mother, Jean Murphy,is to deliver to the Prime Minister a 12,000-name petition demanding that a trained paramedic be put on every ambulance.

The Ambulance Service has since held an investigation and admitted failings with regard to Kayleigh’s death. The trust is now seeking an amendment to regulations to allow technicians, who can already administer some other drugs, to administer diazepam.

A statement from the service, said: “We accept that Kayleigh may have benefited from paramedic intervention and we are committed to learning lessons from this case.”

Diagnosis? N.F.I.

The musings and occasional rants of an Emergency Care Practitioner
 

Now you see us: soon you won’t


An endangered species?

So, its official. Dial 999 and you’ll get a car. The Evening Standard carried an article the other day:

Home-start paramedics to speed up 999 response

London Ambulance seem to have decided that the whole service will be geared entirely around achieving government ORCON standards. They’ll be dispatching paramedics from home - (out here in the sticks we have first responder groups). Its all about getting someone (anyone!) there within the required number of minutes and ticking the right boxes. As has been said before: Get there within 8 minutes and the patient dies - that’s a success; get there in 9 minutes and save their life - that’s a failure.

The London Ambulance Service is investigating ways to speed up 999 response times before new targets are introduced. Paramedics and technicians-must be on the scene at 75 per cent of all life- threatening - or Category A - calls within eight minutes.

Mr Todd (assistant director of operations) said: “As we move closer to the new clock start we are contemplating becoming much more reliant on cars and solo responders in the first instance. … Eventually, most Category A calls and all Category B calls will be sent a paramedic in a car in the first instance.

Specially equipped ambulance cars will sit outside the homes of on-call medics to deal with emergencies in their neighbourhoods.

Of course in typical ‘ambulance style’ management, the senior staff are using all the usual incentives to encourage staff to help them meet these targets.

In a raft of new measures, league tables of each paramedic’s performance will be drawn up and those who perform badly will be asked for an explanation.

Identifying individual staff who take longer to reach emergencies or hand over patients at hospital, and finding out why it happens.

Excellent! Management by bullying! No wonder the NHS is such a mess.

4 Responses to “Now you see us: soon you won’t”

  1. Adam Says:

    It sounds like there’ll be staff manning cars and less manning ambulances. So less ambulances, meaning longer waits for transport to hospital?

  2. Carmelo Says:

    And when they change the ORCON game in 2009….
    ..which means at the moment ORCON is measured from when the resource is dispatched. In 2009 it changes to when EOC pick up the phone, essentially taking 2 or 3 minutes off ORCON times. No doubt times will go down.

  3. Millietant Says:

    League tables? What with like a premiership and a third division etc? Will those in the premier league be paid more money and have wives that like to shop. Will the wives develop eating disorders and appear ‘airbrushed’ in the latest edition of ambulance times. Who will sponser the PremierPara’s, will it be Carlsberg, or more likely White Lightening ? I don’t think there’s an official supplier of heroin with the exception of Afghanistan.
    My original reason for posting was your ‘uk forces killed in action’ image at the top, having spoken to the father of a medic in Afghanistan the death toll is apparantly the tip of the iceberg which doesnt reflect the number of horrific physical and mental injuries, which are not being reported.

  4. Al Says:

    Bloody great, I work for a different service and part of my responsibility is to put ‘league tables’ together. I always come out last.

    I remember traipsing for 55 minutes a few years back into another services area that had lots of cars and very few ambulances, the poor patient we had been called to had no less than four cars on scene attending to him from no less than two ambulance services, we came from a third service and landed just behind another ambulance from the original service. So for one patient - four cars, two ambulances, three ambulance services, confused? I was.

    Fortunately nowadays it would all be the same service anyhow so it wouldn’t be quite as astonishing. Good thing really, I think we shall see more of it. Desperately ill patients waiting for well in excess of the ‘golden hour’

    http://diagnosisnfi.wordpress.com/2006/10/09/now-you-see-us-soon-you-wont/

    A blog from Magwitch, an ECP on the frontline in the South East

    Ambulance service struggles due to lack of staff

    Evening Standard (London),  Dec 16, 2005  by REBECCA SMITH
     

    STAFF shortages are leaving London Ambulance Service struggling.

    There are almost 200 vacancies and a recent salary shake-up has cut the amount of overtime paramedics want to do.

    It means fewer 999 calls are being reached within the eight- minute target.

    Staff were commended for their response to the 7 July bombings but the disruption was felt for months afterwards.

    With the busiest time of the year approaching, more disruption is feared.

    Russell Smith, deputy director of operations, said: "We have been struggling."

    Union representative Phil Thompson said: "We don't know if the shortfall will be coverable."

    (c)2005. Associated Newspapers Ltd.. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.

     

    Bike-riding paramedics set to patrol the City

    Evening Standard (London),  Aug 15, 2006  by REBECCA SMITH
     

    PARAMEDICS will travel on mountain bikes in an effort to improve response times to 999 calls in the City.

    In a two-month trial, a team of four will be sent to all emergency calls in the Square Mile and a regular ambulance will be dispatched at the same time.

    The bright yellow bikes are fitted with blue lights and sirens and carry equipment including a heart-starting defibrillator, oxygen, pain-relieving gas and a maternity pack for delivering babies.

    For more minor calls a bike paramedic will be sent alone and can request assistance if required. It is hoped the move will free ambulance crews to attend more serious calls where patients need to be taken to hospital.

    Bicycle teams have already been judged a success in saving lives at Heathrow.

    City Cycle Response unit manager Paul Davies said: "More than 300,000 people work in the City of London and their numbers are swelled by the several million tourists who visit the area each year.

    "Using the bicycle gives us an opportunity to save potentially vital seconds in starting treatment, especially in the narrow streets which ambulances have difficulty negotiating quickly."

    (c)2006. Associated Newspapers Ltd.. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.

     

    999 ambulance computer failure putting lives at risk

    Evening Standard (London),  Aug 23, 2006  by REBECCA SMITH
     

    LIVES are being put at risk because of a crisis with London Ambulance Service's computer-controlled 999 system.

    The system, which sends ambulances on emergency calls, has failed repeatedly over the last three weeks.

    To track ambulances, staff have had to go back to using pen and paper - a system last used 10 years ago - sparking fears that people could die in the confusion.

    A shortage of staff in the call centre has compounded the problem.

    At peak times calls are diverted to the Met Police control room, to staff who have no medical training and cannot give emergency advice such as how to start CPR in a patient whose heart has stopped.

    It is reminiscent of a computer crash in 1992 which resulted in the deaths of up to 20 people because ambulances were delayed in reaching patients.

    An insider at London Ambulance Service said: "It has taken us back to the old days of call-takers having to use a London A-Z to find addresses and the allocaters having to try and guess where ambulances were - and who was available and who was not.

    "It has been a nightmare. Patients are being put at risk because when they dial 999 and it's busy, they get through to a voice message and are then diverted to a police call-taker who is not trained to give medical advice.

    "This does not happen every day, only when call volumes are high, but it is now a regular occurrence.

    "When the computer systems crash, the operations centre does not know which ambulances are on emergency calls, or returning to their stations and available."

    When working properly, London Ambulance Service call-takers input details of emergencies into the computer system.

    Then it automatically alerts the nearest ambulance via a screen in the cab, allowing the most efficient response.

    Managers at London Ambulance Service say there is no evidence that patients are being put at risk, that the system only goes down for a short time, and that the pen and paper system works well.

    A spokesman said the main problems have now been fixed and were related to a software upgrade at the end of July.

    "When the system has not functioned normally, we have reverted to the tried and tested process of recording details of emergency calls on paper and then passing information to ambulance crews over the radio system.

    "We are of course very sorry for any distress that may have been caused to patients or those who have called on their behalf. Staffing in the control room has been an issue and covering some shifts during this month have proved problematic," he said.

    This put "additional pressure on our ability to manage periods of particularly high demand", he said.

    "As a result, there have been a limited number of occasions when incoming calls have been diverted to the police for a very short period.

    "This is part of our normal contingency planning and is always in place to deal with surges in 999 calls.

    "Despite these issues, the service is meeting its key performance target of getting to 75 per cent of all life-threatened patients within eight minutes."

    In 1992 health unions said up to 20 people died because of a " catastrophic failure" with a new computer system.

    It led to the resignation of the head of London's ambulances, John Wilby.

    (c)2006. Associated Newspapers Ltd.. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.

     

     

    Home-start paramedics to speed up 999 response

    Evening Standard (London),  Oct 3, 2006  by REBECCA SMITH
    PARAMEDICS will be scrambled from home to answer 999 calls in a bid to speed up response times in London.

    Specially equipped ambulance cars will sit outside the homes of on-call medics to deal with emergencies in their neighbourhoods.

    The scheme is to be piloted in outer areas of London where emergency response times are worst. In a raft of new measures, league tables of each paramedic's performance will be drawn up and those who perform badly will be asked for an explanation.

    The London Ambulance Service is investigating ways to speed up 999 response times before new targets are introduced. Paramedics and technicians-must be on the scene at 75 per cent of all life- threatening - or Category A - calls within eight minutes.

    Currently, the clock starts when the call-taker establishes the address and predicament of the patient.

    But in 18 months it will start when the call is put through the switchboard-meaning the whole process must be made quicker. Among other measures are: . Checking calls are categorised correctly so only the most serious trigger a response within eight minutes. Less- serious cases are not subject to the target.

    . Increasing the number of control room staff dispatching ambulances from seven to 14. Now it takes an average of 23 seconds to dispatch an ambulance.

    Part of this process will be automated.

    . Sending single paramedics in cars to the most serious calls more often.

    They can then request an ambulance to take a patient to hospital if needed.

    Eventually, most Category A calls and all Category B calls will be sent a paramedic in a car in the first instance.

    . Staggering shift start times to prevent a dip in performance when vehicles are being handed over to staff starting work.

    . Identifying individual staff who take longer to reach emergencies or hand over patients at hospital, and finding out why it happens.

    Some frontline workers say the changes are a "Big Brother" approach and morale will be hit.

    Others claim single paramedics in cars will endanger patients.

    But Ian Todd, assistant director of operations of the service, said the changes would mean significant improvements for patients such as heart attack victims, whose chances of survival drop by 10 per cent for every minute's delay in getting treatment.

    Mr Todd said: "By moving the clock start time back two minutes it gives every cardiac arrest patient a 20 per cent increase in their chances of survival."

    He said the move would also reflect a patient's experience of dialling 999 more closely but added: "It is a major change and effectively means we need to find a 25 per cent time saving."

    The service wanted to shave off vital seconds throughout the emergency call process.

    Mr Todd said: "As we move closer to the new clock start we are contemplating becoming much more reliant on cars and solo responders in the first instance.

    "There are many cases where patients can be assessed and treated on scene and then referred to other services without going to AE. We are moving away from the traditional blue light two-crew ambulances responding to all calls, which is very expensive."

    In addition, the service is now at almost full strength and so will be less reliant on staff overtime.

    (c)2006. Associated Newspapers Ltd.. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.

    Ambulance crisis

    Evening Standard (London),  Oct 5, 2006  

    THE LONDON Ambulance Service is having to cope with swingeing cuts to its budgets, and all because other parts of the health service are struggling financially. The NHS in London ended last year almost 168 million Pounds  in debt; this year the figure is expected to be lower, at Pounds 90 million.

    Health trusts and hospitals are being asked to contribute towards cancelling the debt and building up a contingency fund for the future. The problem is that those parts of the health service that have managed their finances adequately, like the ambulance services, have to bale out those that have not.

    The ambulance service - although in credit - has to contribute Pounds 3 million towards the shortfall.

    As a result, it will have to reduce staff overtime, which will be restricted to busy periods, such as weekends, and to limit severely the number of ambulances staffed by a crew of two. Instead, there is to be an increase in the number of ambulance cars, driven by a single paramedic.

    It is right that the NHS should have to balance its books, but the idea of doing so at the expense of emergency services is unacceptable. The service is at the very front line of the NHS, dealing with critical situations very quickly. Cuts in staff overtime may save money but this may turn out to be at the expense of patients during unexpected emergencies outside weekends - the London bombing, which took place during the week, is a dramatic case in point.

    And sending out ambulance cars with a single attendant, rather than proper ambulances, may actually compromise the safety of crew and the soundness of the decisions that are made in emergencies. The service's management is trying hard not to compromise patient care - but this is a cut too far.

    (c)2006. Associated Newspapers Ltd.. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.

    The Paramedic's Diary

     
    A record of the working life of a London Ambulance Paramedic. All in-confidence. All real.
    Previous Entries

     

    Alert Me as Entries are Posted