A 58-year-old dad died on Christmas Eve waiting for an ambulance after three 999 calls. Minnie Rahman said dad Iqbal, 58, felt “nobody was coming to help him” as he died while waiting for paramedics.
Minnie, 34, said: “The Government created this situation. My dad felt in his final hours that nobody was coming to help him, it’s really difficult for me and my family to live with.”
She told The Mirror: “I don’t think any of my family ever thought that if you call the ambulance they won’t come when it’s that bad. And it was that bad – Dad died. My mum is just devastated”
West Midlands Ambulance Service received its first call from Iqbal’s family at 7.07pm. His family could not lift him into a car and 40 minutes later they called 999 again.
An ambulance was dispatched – then diverted to a higher-priority call. When Iqbal stopped breathing the family rang a third time at 8.04pm. An ambulance arrived at 8.28pm, but Iqbal could not be saved.
A WMAS spokesman said: “We would like to apologise to the Rahman family for the delayed response and offer our condolences. At the time of the call, the Trust was experiencing long hospital handover delays.”
Minnie with Sana and her dad. This is the last photo they took together before he died
Iqbal was due to spend Christmas at an Airbnb in Hereford with Minnie’s mum Samina, 58, her sister Sana, 36, and Sana’s children. When he arrived, Iqbal was already feeling poorly.
His wife Samina, a speech therapist for the NHS, believed her husband of 38 years was suffering heart problems.
Minnie, a consultant, said: “He was complaining of extreme shoulder pain, had a very high temperature and was excessively sweating. It was first advised that it could be due to his diabetes. It wasn’t until his breathing stopped that paramedics were sent.”
Minnie said: “He was extremely caring and funny, quite silly. It should not have been my dad who died in this way and it shouldn’t be anybody else’s.”
Minnie said her father’s death was also “heartbreaking” for paramedics: “They should be getting to people at a stage where they can help. How many families will be traumatised before the Government does what it has to do and funds the NHS properly?”
