Ambulance downgraded call out to man who suffered a fit and later died in Tameside Hospital

A man who died in Tameside hospital after suffering a fit may have received emergency help quicker if a different ambulance service had attended to him.

South Manchester coroner Alison Mutch has asked for the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) and East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) to respond to her concerns folowing the death of Joseph Miller at the hospital.

An ambulance was called after a neighbour saw Mr Miller fitting in the garden of his home on May 31, 2023.

A call was made to the ambulance service that was initially categorised as category one but downgraded to category three when it was reported that he was no longer fitting. 

A further call was made when he had another seizure and became unconscious.  The initial Rapid Response Team were there within eight minutes. But despite extensive efforts to resuscitate him, Mr Miller did not regain consciousness. 

He was transferred to Tameside hospital where tests on June 3 confirmed severe hypoxic brain injury and he was declared dead on June 5.

Ms Mutch said: “During the course of the inquest the evidence revealed matters giving rise to concern. In my opinion there is a risk that future deaths will occur unless action is taken.

“The inquest heard evidence that different ambulance services use different pathways that can impact how calls are categorised or downgraded. 

“The consequence of this is that how the ambulance services across England deal with a call varies depending on where you live. 

“As an example in this inquest, because of where Joseph lived, calls can go to EMAS or NWAS depending on which mobile telephone mast the call pings on. 

“The initial call went to EMAS who on being told he was no longer fitting downgraded the call, in line with their pathway. 

“The inquest was told that had the call been dealt with by NWAS they would not have downgraded the call to a category three in this situation because that was not how their pathway operated.

“The consequence of these different pathways is that there is not a consistent approach to call categorisation across the country which can have a significant impact on the dispatch of potentially lifesaving attendance by the ambulance service.”

Both ambulance services have until May 9 to resond to the coroner.