Before dying of heart failure after waiting more than 13 hours for an ambulance, it was revealed at an inquest.
On December 19, 2022, Jean Frickel, 79, of Buckley, Flintshire, who had a history of heart issues, was having trouble breathing.
The 999 operator informed her husband that there would be a significant delay because of the high demand.
Kate Sutherland, the coroner, expressed concern that this would continue to happen in her narrative conclusion.
The assistant coroner for north Wales east and central stated, "Despite promises of change, the problem still persists and the multi-factoral problems involve not just the ambulance service but also the health boards, the local authorities, and social care.".
Despite the fact that 61 other amber one calls in north Wales were being handled, Ms. Frickel's case was classified as amber one, which means a threat to life.
At around 08:00 the following morning, Mr. Frickel called 999 once more to report that his wife was not breathing. A crew was already on its way.
She was confirmed to be dead by paramedics when they arrived within five minutes of the call.
"The initial wait for 13 hours is not the standard WAST want to apply to patients, but due to significant handover delays at hospitals we were unable to get to Mrs. Frickel sooner," Welsh Ambulance Service Trust (WAST) representative Gillian Pleming said during the hearing at Ruthin Coroner's Court.
If the ambulance had arrived sooner, Ms. Frickel might have lived "a few more weeks," but not by much longer, according to Betsi Cadwaladr health board consultant cardiologist Richard Cowell, who had been treating her since 2004.
Helen Underhill, Ms. Frickel's daughter, said that although she was aware of her mother's "extremely poor" condition, her passing came "a little bit too soon.".
The system was being worked on, the inquest was told, and handoffs between the ambulance service and the health boards were given priority as part of a larger system of changes.
"Jean Frickel was denied the opportunity for potentially life-extending treatment at hospital due to the time it took for the ambulance to arrive," said Ms. Sutherland.
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