Ambulance service ordered to publish deaths report
An ambulance service has been ordered to publish a report into claims it failed to disclose full information about patient deaths to coroners.
In 2022, whistleblower Paul Calvert, a coroner's officer for North East Ambulance Service (NEAS), claimed the organisation was covering up important details relating to fatalities.
NEAS previously refused to publish a report it had commissioned into some of these deaths, but has now been forced to release it following an intervention from the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).
The ambulance service said it accepted the decision and reiterated its "unreserved apology for the distress caused".
NEAS had withheld the March 2020 report produced by investigators from AuditOne.
This was despite much of it already being leaked by Mr Calvert, as well as a series of freedom of information (FOI) requests from the lawyers of the family of Peter Coates, whose death is one of those detailed in the report.
Mr Coates, 62, died in 2019 at his home near Redcar, Teesside.
He called 999 in March when a power cut stopped his oxygen supply working.
However, one crew had stopped to refuel en route to Mr Coates and another was stuck at the ambulance station three minutes away because the same power cut prevented the gates from opening.
The AuditOne report found the coroner was not provided with all the information about the ambulance response, nor details of an investigation into it.
The victim's family only discovered what happened after Mr Calvert spoke out and Mr Coates' daughter, Kellie, said in August 2023: "It's outrageous. It's disgusting."
The family's lawyer, Leigh Day solicitor Carolin Ott, said they were calling for "increased transparency" from NEAS.
"Whilst provision of the [AuditOne] report marks a step in the right direction, full transparency and accountability are needed."
'Unjustified delays'
Mr Coates was one of six cases investigated by AuditOne, which found in each instance that relevant information was either not disclosed to the coroner or was subject to unexplained or unnecessary delays.
In November, the ICO said NEAS must disclose a copy of the report within 30 days.
The ambulance service said it had previously withheld the report because it contained personal and patient information however, almost five years on, the ICO ruled it was fine to release it with redactions.
Now publicly available, the report detailed instances of "unnecessary and unjustified" delays in disclosing information to the coroner.
It said all documents relevant to a person's death must be disclosed and that it was not for NEAS to determine whether to disclose them.
A NEAS spokesperson said: "We have acknowledged that NEAS contributed to the significant distress and grief for the relatives and friends of the patients who feature in this report.
"We reiterate again our unreserved apology for the distress caused."
Meanwhile whistleblower Mr Calvert said it was "good" that the report had finally been made public.
"But the report only details six cases of cover up and I know there are many more cases to be investigated," he added.
In response, NEAS said: "The claims made that we have failed to disclose information in other cases are incorrect.
"A former member of staff does continue to air concerns and to suggest there are further cases to be investigated.
"We have reaudited our process, worked with coroners and with the CQC, and have embedded regular reviews to ensure these issues have been addressed."
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