South Central Ambulance Service saw 21 cases result in death as it faced 'unprecedented pressures' during June heatwave
Board papers show 21 patients died and nine were severely harmed
South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) have revealed that 21 patients died as the trust faced “unprecedented operational pressures” during the extreme heat in June.
A red heat warning was issued by the Met Office between June 24 and June 26 with the ambulance service announcing a critical incident on June 25 due to “exceptional pressure” created by the scorching temperatures.
An overview of the incident which was released in board papers show that an increase in calls to 999 and 111 over that time period resulted in 39 duty of candour letters being issued to affected patients and families. The duty of candour process is the legal obligation that health and social care providers have to be open and transparent when things go wrong.
Of the 39 cases, which were mainly due to delayed arrival at the scene (36 of the 39), 21 resulted in death and nine in severe harm with the callouts due to issues such as breathing difficulties, unconscious patients and falls.
Following a review into the incident, Professor Helen Young, Chief Nurse at South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SCAS), said: "I am deeply sorry for the distress and harm experienced by our patients and families during the heatwave, which caused extreme pressure on our services and our partners in NHS.
"I know the impact of these delays was profound for those patients and families waiting for an ambulance. We offer our heartfelt condolences to those affected and our sincere apologies where our service did not meet the standard people expected.
"Every patient and family identified through this review was contacted individually, offered an apology and given the opportunity to be involved in our review process.
"Given the ongoing investigations and reviews, including Coroners inquests, it is not yet determined that in all cases the delay experienced was a contributory factor to the patient's death, but we are committed to fully investigate and learn from anything we become aware of, to improve the care we offer to patients.
"We will continue to offer support to patients, families and our staff through the investigations and reviews to ensure everyone’s experience is heard. We know this heatwave was unprecedented, but we will use all these experiences to prepare for future heat and weather events. We have also shared our early learning with other ambulance services in the NHS."
The south was not the only area affected by the June heatwave with the UK Health Security Agency reporting that an estimated 2,124 deaths were associated to it.
More details of the overview of the major incident can be found on the SCAS board papers.