AMBULANCE STAFF IN 'NO SHOW' PROBE [Birmingham Mail (UK)]

[EMT City Administrator]

WEST Midlands Ambulance Service has apologised after it failed to send a crew to the home of a pensioner who had suffered serious burns and later died.

Eighty-five-year-old John Copcutt, from Erdington, passed away two weeks after the fire which was likely to have been caused by his smoking habit.

Assistant Deputy Coroner Sally Scanlon said the call made by Mr Copcutt's daughter "had not been taken correctly" and that information had not been acted upon.

An inquest in Birmingham heard that Veronica Copcutt had been obliged to take her father to Heartlands Hospital herself. However the coroner said she believed that any delay caused had not made any difference to the eventual outcome.

She recorded that the pensioner died following necessary and major surgery which was given for severe burn injuries which he sustained as a result of an accident.

Miss Copcutt said her father, who lived in Tyburn Road, suffered from dementia and that on March 13 last year she received a call from one of his carers saying that he had had an accident.

She said when she arrived at the address she discovered that her father had suffered burns to his stomach and right arm and that his hair was singed.

"I tried to find out what he had done but he could not tell me," she said.

Miss Copcutt said she also discovered the burnt remains of clothing outside and a burn mark on the living room floor.

"I phoned an ambulance but they refused to send an ambulance out. I tried to describe the injuries to them. They were going through lots of questions."

The inquest was told that Mr Copcutt, who had suffered 16 per cent burns, was transferred to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital where he was operated on but his condition deteriorated.

Alan Ford, an operations centre manager for West Midlands Ambulance, said as a result of an investigation new procedures had been put in place regarding the assessment of burns victims and training had been given.

Afterwards Miss Copcutt said "If he had been treated at the house they might have taken him to the correct hospital. At least, hopefully, something good might have come out of this."

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokeswoman said "The Trust would like to express its sincere condolences to the family of Mr Copcutt.

"Following his death a serious untoward incident was raised by the Trust and an entensive internal investigation took place.

"The coroner concluded that an ambulance would not have made any difference to Mr Copcutt's outcome."

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.

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