Did 999 fail me? Should I complain?
my Dad passed away on Wednesday. He lived by himself and I was notified by a neighbour of his that they hadn't heard from him for a few days, his lights were on and keys were inside the locked door. Over 3 hours went from when I phoned for an ambulance, to my neighbour then gaining entry via a locksmith, to find he had passed at home.
I was visiting my elderly grandmother who is in palliative care, in Kent, she also passed this morning. I phoned for an ambulance in Kent (my Dad is in Devon) and the operator said he was able to arrange an emergency one to attend. During the course of the next few hours whilst on the motorway I went through a huge ordeal, chasing them on 999, trying police, trying fire service, and trying 101 and 111 for updates. I even had a call from the neighbour whilst she was banging on his door and shouting through his letter box.
I was being told by 999/101/111 operators that either they couldn't provide an update, couldn't help, or couldn't tell me when an ambulance would arrive because they were busy.
At that point I contacted a locksmith who got there half an hour later and gained entry with my neighbour present. They then found him and ambulance arrived very quickly at that point. The paramedics told my neighbour he had probably been dead for 4-5 hours. My initial 999 call was at around 11:15 and the locksmith arrived at 1500.
I obviously can't help feeling the service and response times given were absolutely awful and I genuinely believe he could still be alive today. I am totally distraught as his only next of kin and these circumstances add so much rage to my emotions. I would like to complain but I'm not sure how given that I had passed through different service areas whilst driving during my calls. I still have not been contacted by his GP or the Coroner / Mortuary for a cause of death.
Thanks for reading and for any recommendations