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A grandfather was left to die at home after waiting 16 hours for an ambulance to arrive, an inquest heard.
Joseph Edge, 74, was left lying for hours at his home in Llandegla, North Wales, after his wife Carole dialled 999 at 1.15pm when she became worried about his health.
A paramedic didn t arrive at their home until 5.15am the next day - and it was too late.
An inquest in Ruthin heard Mr Edge died of natural causes but a prompter response from emergency service could have saved him.
The hearing was told that retired plumber and mechanic Mr Edge had fallen the day before at his home and suffered a cut to his head.
UNPRECEDENTED demand placed on the Welsh Ambulance Service saw a man wait 16 hours for an ambulance before he died, an inquest heard. Joseph William Edge, 74, was pronounced dead at his home at Queen s Cottages in Llandegla in the early hours of December 29, 2019. North Wales Police had briefly investigated a possible case of corporate manslaughter on the part of the Welsh Ambulance Service (WAS) due to the time it had taken to get an ambulance to Mr Edge. The investigation was closed without further action taken, but an inquest held in County Hall in Ruthin on Tuesday (May 25) into Mr Edge s death heard that a prompter response from the ambulance service may have led to a different outcome .
Man died 16-hours after wife called 999 for an ambulance
Joseph Edge was deemed critically unwell by out-of-hours staff but was later graded as low priority by the Welsh Ambulance Service
Joseph Edge, 74, died in December 2019
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A pensioner died 16 hours after his wife dialed 999, an inquest was told.
BBC News
Published
A 74-year-old man died while waiting 16 hours for an ambulance, an inquest heard.
Joseph Edge s wife, Carole, called 999 in December 2019, worried about his low blood pressure, the hearing was told.
The ambulance service was facing unprecedented demand at the time and his case was not listed as a red priority, the inquest in Ruthin heard.
Call handlers went on to ring every two hours to apologise and say they were busy , said Ms Edge from Denbighshire.
A post-mortem examination concluded Mr Edge s heart was enlarged and a main artery was blocked.
Dr Brian Rodgers, a Home Office pathologist, said Mr Edge could have died at any time .