Andrew Edward Watson was 32-years-old when he died on October 10, 2019, at a supported living facility in Langley Moor. Staff called 999 when he was having trouble breathing, his throat was swollen, and he had been vomiting blood. After 57 minutes paramedics were yet to arrive and staff called again for an ambulance when he became “unresponsive”.
The call was reprioritised and medics arrived in 10 minutes but Mr Watson was pronounced dead a short time later, despite attempts to save his life. An internal ambulance service report said it is likely he "would have benefited from earlier treatment ", and the delay getting to him was "likely" to have contributed to his death. The details of that report were leaked to The Sunday Times in 2022 by a whistleblower who alleged the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) had attempted to cover-up deaths.
(Image: NORTHERN ECHO) Mr Watson’s case was one of six featured in the leaked report, which detailed how coroners were “not being made aware of concerns and/or investigations being carried out by the trust in a timely fashion” after patients died. The Echo understands that despite the coroner investigating after Mr Watson’s death five years ago, information about delays reaching him was not disclosed and the coroner was not made aware of an internal investigation by NEAS. Last Thursday (November 14) an inquest was opened and adjourned by Senior Assistant Coroner for Durham and Darlington Crispin Oliver at Crook Coroners’ Court.
