A "healthy" dad has died of a heart attack while waiting nearly two hours for an ambulance. His devastated widow has said her husband's death was preventable.
Michael Wright, 33, suffered a heart attack while he was alone at home. He had dialled 999 after feeling pains in his chest and being sick.
Former landscape gardener Michael's condition got worse as he waited one hour and 45 minutes for paramedics to arrive on January 17. His wife Vicki said he "became scared" as the wait went on.
Vicki, 31, told told the Express: "I am angry. I am really angry. It could have been prevented. It could have. It's horrible.
"He had no health problems like this. He was totally healthy. I know there is a strain on the NHS at the moment, but it is not good enough to leave him that long. They could have told him to jump in a taxi, because to take nearly two hours is not on.
"I was out at the time, but after he'd called for an ambulance, he called me to tell me he had this awful pain in his chest. He vomited while he was on the phone to me. He said he was becoming scared."
East of England Ambulance Service has apologised for the delay. It came amid a string of industrial action by employees across various industries, including ambulance workers. But no strike action has been taken by staff at East of England Ambulance Service.
Vicki, who married Michael in 2018, believes his death would have been avoided if paramedics had arrived at his home in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, within the guideline time of 18 minutes for the Category 2 call.
The retail assistant, who was out with the children when Michael fell ill, said: "It definitely would have been avoided if the ambulance had arrived sooner. This death was avoidable.
"I got a call to say he had gone into cardiac arrest in hospital. I rushed there and they put me straight in the family room and they said basically that he'd gone. They had tried to work on him for 90 minutes."
Paying tribute to Michael, Vicki said: "Michael was lovely. He was very humorous. He had a very funny side to his character. He made me laugh."
An East of England Ambulance Service spokesperson said: "We offer our sincere condolences to Mr Wright’s family and loved ones. At the time of the call we were experiencing high levels of demand and our ability to respond to patients was significantly affected by handover delays at hospitals. We are working hard to meet demand on our services by recruiting additional clinical staff, hiring more call handlers, and working closely with local hospitals to reduce handover delays so we can reach patients more quickly."
