Wife dies after waiting 16 hours for ambulance after number of frantic 999 calls
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A woman has died of a cardiac arrest after she waited more than 16 hours for an ambulance.
Teresa Simpson, 54, who suffered from diabetes, passed away at the end of November after she went in to diabetic hypoglycaemia.
Her husband Matthew Simpson, 47, appeared on Good Morning Britain on Wednesday (4 January). He believes that his wife would still be alive if the Yorkshire Ambulance Service had arrived when he first spoke to them.
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"They said they would send an ambulance but said they couldn't give me a time limit because they were extremely busy," Matthew said.
"She was still communicating with me, so if they came out within a six hour time limit they would have realised her sugar level had dropped, they would have taken her in and she would have been in hospital getting medical attention.
"If she had a heart attack, she would have been on a heart monitor and seen to straight away."
After waiting for hours, the couple fell asleep in the early hours of the morning but when Matthew woke up to check on Teresa, she was unresponsive.
Matthew rang 999 once again and the ambulance reportedly arrived 16 hours after he had pulled the emergency cord.
Teresa was rushed Hull Royal Infirmary but just a couple of hours later, she passed away.
"I believe the ambulance service killed my wife and she would still be here if she got the medical help," Matthew said.
He explained that he still didn't know what had caused the delay, adding: "I still don't know to this day why the delay is, I've made a complaint which has now gone up to a serious inquest which will take 12 months.
"Who makes these decisions? It's wrong. I've lost my wife, my best friend and my soulmate."
The couple were due to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary together this year, but Matthew has instead had to plan his wife's funeral and scatter her ashes.
Matthew has made an official complaint to the Yorkshire Ambulance Service.
A spokesperson told Good Morning Britain: “First and foremost, our thoughts are with Mr Simpson on the sad loss of his wife Teresa this week, and we offer him our sincere condolences.
“Our Patient Relations Team has received correspondence from Mr Simpson raising concerns about our response to this incident.
“They will liaise directly with Mr Simpson about specific details relating to this.”
Tyla has reached out to Yorkshire Ambulance Services for further comment.
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