Woman's brain starved of oxygen as ambulance waited for police escort

12 April 2012

A woman was left brain-damaged after an ambulance waited yards down the road for almost two hours for a police escort.

Paramedics failed to respond to 999 calls made by Caren Paterson's boyfriend because they came from a "high-risk address". The warning meant police had previously been called to the address so the ambulance was told to wait for officers before responding.

Miss Paterson, 33, who now needs round-the-clock care, was a researcher at King's College Hospital. She can no longer work, suffers from amnesia, anger outbursts, and disorientation because her brain was starved of oxygen. London Ambulance Service has admitted liability.

Her lawyer John Davis said it was not known why the address was on the high-risk register.

Miss Paterson collapsed in her bedroom at Archway in October 2007. Her boyfriend dialled 999 at 1.39pm, saying she was unconscious, breathing abnormally and her lips were blue. There was no police escort available and, despite another two calls, the ambulance waited 100 yards away for 102 minutes. She suffered a cardiac arrest at about 3.15pm, six minutes before help came.

Mr Davis, from law firm Irwin Mitchell, is now demanding urgent improvements in the handling of 999 calls after the LAS admitted 11 breaches of duty. A spokesman for the LAS said: "We carried out a detailed investigation and have accepted liability for the shortcomings in the care that was provided. Dr Paterson is bringing a claim for compensation against the service and we hope that the legal representatives can now work together to find a resolution."

Mr Davis said: "It is imperative that people in Miss Paterson's condition are treated as quickly as possible - even seconds can make a huge difference, let alone over an hour and a half. The emergency services had been made abundantly aware of the seriousness of her condition yet failed to handle the situation."

Miss Paterson spent three months at the Whittington Hospital in Archway before being moved to a hospital near her family home in Northumberland. She is now being cared for at the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Trust in York.

Her mother Eleanor said: "The thought of an ambulance crew waiting while my daughter lay in her flat, as her condition went from serious to life-threatening, causing irreparable damage to her brain, is still shocking. I now know there were further procedures that should have been followed and, if they had been, my daughter would have received the treatment that she needed."

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