Future of London Ambulance Service under debate
Three Court of Appeal judges
ruled this month that ambulance services can be liable to
pay compensation for injuries
resulting from failure to
respond to 999 calls within a
reasonable time. This test case
ruling could leave ambulance
services open to a huge increase
in costly litigation. Tracey Kent,
a 35 year old asthma sufferer,
was awarded more than
£360 000 when she claimed that
she had suffered brain damage
because an ambulance had not
responded quickly enough
when she suffered an acute
asthma attack in February 1991.
Mrs Kent, who was 12 weeks
pregnant at the time of the
attack, claimed that she suffered
respiratory arrest and loss of
her baby as a direct result of
waiting 34 minutes for an
ambulance to arrive.
MIKE DEVLIN/SPL
The latest appeal hearing
against the ruling was held last
month, after a previous appeal
was overturned in 1998. James
Munby, QC for the service,
argued that in fact the service
had not created the danger, had
no "special relationship" with
Mrs Kent, and had no duty to
turn up at all.
Lord Woolf, the Master of
the Rolls, said that the acceptance of the call established a
duty of care, and that the findings of the judge concluded that
it was the delay that caused the
further injuries. Mrs Kent had
claimed that the brain injuries
she sustained led to an acute
memory loss, so that she no
longer remembered she was
married and had a 3 year old
daughter. Having made it clear
that damages and legal costs
awarded to Mrs Kent should not
be affected, the judges have gave
leave for an appeal to the House
of Lords, on the grounds that
the ruling raised issues of public
importance and significance to
ambulance services.
The London Ambulance
Service is currently holding talks
with its chief executive, Michael
Honey, over future management. Control room staff say,
however, that underfunding is
primarily responsible for the
poor staffing, high workload,
and constant anxiety within the
service.
Jason Neale-Roach, GKT, London
studentBMJ 2000;08:45-88 March ISSN 0966-6494
