A MAN who died from acute pancreatitis was told he did not need an ambulance when he dialled 999, an inquest heard today.
Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust missed three opportunities to initiate hospital treatment for John Barker, a coroner was told.
When he initially phoned for help on May 4 2007, in severe discomfort and suffering from abdominal pain, the operator acknowledged he was suffering from acute pancreatitis but told Mr Barker his condition ''didn't appear to be life-threatening''.
The 65-year-old retired hotel manager was found dead in his home in Acomb, York, the following day, the inquest was told.
His condition, acute inflammation of the pancreas, is extremely painful and can be fatal if hospital treatment is not sought in the first 48 hours of the symptoms developing.
The inquest was told that the call operator, James Taylor, did not hear Mr Barker say he was suffering from breathlessness. As a result he was given a Class C categorisation and an ambulance was not sent to his home.
The inquest, being held in York, was told he should have been classified as a Class A patient and received an eight-minute response by an ambulance.
Being admitted to hospital was his ''best chance'' of surviving, the inquest was told.
There were other missed opportunities to reclassify his condition and dispatch the ambulance, but his symptoms were not fed into a computer system which evaluates the seriousness of a caller's condition.
When nurse and clinical advisor, Alan Haugh, called Mr Barker back he told him to see his GP and get some painkillers. Asked to rate his pain from one to 10, with 10 being the most severe, Mr Barker said he was at level eight.
Mr Haugh was demoted following his contact with Mr Barker and left the trust prior to a disciplinary hearing, the inquest was told.
A family friend also called the ambulance service and updated another call operator with more details of Mr Barker's condition, including the fact that he was breathless, which should have triggered an ambulance being sent.
Coroner Donald Coverdale recorded a narrative verdict and concluded there were three missed opportunities to initiate hospital treatment.
He also said he hoped the computer software systems used by the ambulance service could be further improved to ensure important clinical symptoms are not overlooked by someone not hearing them.
Mr Coverdale said: ''I do feel that this is a matter that should be addressed as the evidence today is that one could have the situation occurring again simply through a default in a telephone call, perhaps interference on the line or a misunderstanding to hear.''
The inquest was told ''lessons had been learnt'' and that procedures, some nationally, had changed as a result of Mr Barker's death.
Following today's inquest, Mr Barker's brother, Richard, spoke of his hope that some good had come from the tragedy.
He said: ''What today's hearing confirmed is that my brother died in very unfortunate circumstances when he had a good chance of survival.
''The Yorkshire Ambulance Service has acknowledged serial failures in not sending him an ambulance. John would have been pleased that some good would come out of his misfortune. We miss him greatly.''
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here