Former paramedic's wife died from heart attack as she waited for ambulance
dailyrecord.co.ukA former paramedic has told of his heartbreak after his wife suffered a heart attack and tragically died as she waited almost an hour for an ambulance to arrive.
Nigel Mitchell, 63, claims that he had been warned a 999 crew might take 90 minutes to reach his wife, Gill, of 43 years. She had suffered a cardiac arrest while the pair were on their morning dog walk, Chronicle Live reports.Nigel, who was an employee with North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) for 32 years, said that he told the 999 call handler that a helicopter would be needed.He claimed that she told him they 'did not send one for anybody' despite his vast experience for the ambulance service.
Nigel wept as he recalled how his wife had died en route to hospital after he, his son Ross, 40, and a passer by tried to save her near their home in Middleton-in-Teesdale, County Durham.He is still waiting for a final report on his wife's cause of death.
But he questions the initial finding that she died of ischemic heart disease, with high blood pressure and high cholesterol contributory factors, as she had undergone a series of health checks before her death."She had been for a walk with the dogs, got home and collapsed, she was sweating, cold, clammy," recalled Nigel."I told the call handler that I was a retired paramedic, she had all the symptoms of a heart attack and that we would need a helicopter because of where we were.
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