The death of Lee Gannon in February 2022 was materially contributed to by a substantial delay in ambulance attendance and transfer to hospital, a coroner has found. Mr Gannon, 25, died from lobar pneumonia after experiencing breathing problems at his Belfast home.
His family called an ambulance, but the initial 999 call was not deemed a Category 1 emergency. Mr Gannon did not reach the Royal Victoria Hospital for almost four hours after the first call.
Coroner Marie Dougan said the initial 999 call should have been registered as Category 1. She also noted two further missed opportunities to reassess Mr Gannon's deteriorating condition. By the time paramedics arrived after a fourth 999 call, it was too late.
Ms Dougan stated that the delay deprived Mr Gannon of timely assessment and treatment for pneumonia and sepsis. She also highlighted that this was not the first inquest where ambulance response time delays featured, and that prolonged delays in patient handovers to Emergency Departments remain an issue in Northern Ireland.
Mr Gannon's sister, Colleen, expressed that her family lives with a "heavy heart" knowing his death was preventable and hopes his death will "bring about change". The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) accepted fault and committed to learning from the death.