Scots patient dies of heart attack after waiting six hours for ambulance

NHS Lothian bosses have apologised to the family of a patient who had to wait six hours on an ambulance and then suffered a fatal heart attack.

The region’s health board has been reprimanded despite initially denying any failings had occurred, after the patient’s child took their complaint to a government watchdog. An investigation by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) found ‘unreasonable delays’ in administering antibiotics to the individual, referred to as ‘A’ in a report, who endured an excruciating 360-minute wait.

Alison MacDonald, nurse director at NHS Lothian, apologised to the patient’s family. She added: “We accept the report from the Ombudsman and are working through the recommendations.”