Woman dies waiting for ambulance

The target for ambulances reaching life-threatening cases is eight minutes.

Calls for an inquiry have been made after a woman died from a heart attack while waiting for an ambulance.

The Welsh Ambulance Service admitted there was no crew available in Blaenau Ffestiniog, Gwynedd after Edna Jones fell ill.

When the ambulance arrived almost 30 minutes later the 64-year-old had died, despite attempts to revive her.

The Wales Ambulance Trust said it is investigating and the health minister is expecting a report on the incident.

The assembly government target for ambulances to reach life-threatening cases is eight minutes.

But Mrs Jones's husband Gwyn, 66, said he believed the ambulance had come from Barmouth, 30 miles away, despite the fact the couple lived near the local ambulance station.

The ambulance men and women do their level best but they are simply undermanned Elfyn Llwyd MP

The case comes two years after parents complained that an ambulance took 19 minutes to reach their 18-months-old daughter, who died in hospital.

Like Mr and Mrs Jones, they lived close to the ambulance station at Blaenau Ffestiniog.

Local Plaid Cymru MP Elfyn Llwyd said the lack of ambulance cover in the area was "unacceptable" and called for an inquiry.

"My deepest condolences go to Mr Jones. I'm afraid this shows once again that the level of service is totally unacceptable," said Mr Llwyd, who represents Meirionydd Nant Conwy.

"I have raised this in the past few weeks and will be asking once again for a meeting with the ambulance trust.

"The ambulance men and women do their level best but they are simply undermanned. This we cannot accept."

He added: "When you consider that the nearest general hospital is about an hour from the Blaenau Ffestiniog area and you begin to think this is a very poor service and it's certainly not the kind of service you expect as rate payers."

'Urgent report'

The Welsh Ambulance Service's regional director Dafydd Jones Morris said he did not accept Mr Llwyd's comments about lack of crews in the area.

He said: "While extra resources are always welcome, in this particular area of south Gwynedd we have more crews per head of population than there are in urban areas of Wales and traditional ambulances are backed up by a fleet of rapid response vehicles."

A Wales Ambulance Trust spokesman said any complaints would be investigated and dealt with appropriately.

He said two emergency calls from Blaenau Ffestiniog had been received at the same time and the local crew was at Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor, where a patient was being discharged.

A Welsh Assembly Government spokesman said: "The ambulance trust is carrying out an investigation and the Health Minister Edwina Hart will expect an urgent report on its findings."