Norwich man, 92, faced 21 hour ambulance wait before death

John Winsworth was found on the floor of his city home on Valentine's Day this year, with an ambulance called at 11.55am.

But crews did not arrive at his home until 9.30am the following day, before finally taking him to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.

Once he arrived, it was then another four hours before he could be admitted to the hospital's emergency department.

It was then discovered he had suffered a small bleed to his brain, but his condition did eventually improve and he was due to be discharged some days later.

But Mr Winsworth, who was a retired insurance underwriter, died on February 21 after his condition suddenly deteriorated.

Norfolk coroner Jacqueline Lake (Image: Archant © 2014)

While the delays were not directly linked to his death, it has sparked Norfolk's senior coroner Jacqueline Lake to write to the health secretary Steve Barclay and the Department of Health and Social Care with her concerns.

Mrs Lake has made a report to prevent future deaths relating to the delays and the continued pressure on both the ambulance service and the hospital's A&E department.

She wrote: "In my opinion, there is a risk that future deaths could occur unless action is taken."

It is the fourth time this year alone Mrs Lake has written to the department calling for more action to address NHS delays.

In January she published a report following the death of 61-year-old Lyn Brind, who died at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital after a four-hour wait in the back of an ambulance meant telltale signs of heart failure were missed.

In the same month she highlighted a delay faced by 88-year-old Kyriacos Athanasis and last month wrote to the department over a 14-hour wait for hospital transfer suffered by 86-year-old Geoffrey Hoad.

The department is required to respond to Mrs Lake by November 24.