Ambulance crew's 'neglect' and 'gross failure in basic care' caused man's death, inquest finds

ITV News

13-06-2025

A 39-year-old man died from a cardiac arrest due to "gross failure" and "neglect" by the ambulance crew sent to help him, an inquest has concluded.
Coroner Bridget Dolan says Frazer Irvine, who lived in Jersey, would have survived if basic care had been provided, such as putting him in the recovery position.
She explains: "The crew did nothing to adjust his position to one in which his airway would be protected, despite Frazer beginning to vomit."
The Coroner adds that the advanced life support given to Mr Irvine by the crew after his cardiac arrest was "inadequate in a number of respects" and could have contributed to his death.
The two medics involved, ambulance technician Tom Le Sauteur and paramedic John Sutherland, were found guilty of failing to provide adequate care to Mr Irvine under Jersey's Health and Safety Law last June.
They were sentenced to a two-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay £500 each in court costs - both men ultimately resigned from the Ambulance Service at the start of this year.
The Coroner states that on Friday 18 March 2022, Mr Irvine was "very drunk and had taken some prescription drugs when he called an ambulance asking for assistance".
She says he met the two medics "with ambivalence and at times, verbal aggression".
Mr Irvine then fell to the floor on the landing outside his flat but concerned that they could face further aggression, the Coroner explains the medics "conducted no physical observations of Frazer before police arrived".
However, she adds: "Frazer's level of consciousness was deteriorating and there were clear signs that this was happening.
"After the police crew arrived, there was no good reason that steps could not then have been taken to conduct observations ... Yet for at least 12 minutes he was still not placed in a recovery position and nothing was done by the ambulance crew to effectively assess and manage his airway."
The Coroner concludes: "There was an unreasonable and protracted delay by the ambulance in providing basic care to him.
"This was a gross failure on their part when the need of a patient in their care should have been obvious.
"Had Frazer received the care that should have been provided to him ... he would not have suffered a cardiac arrest and he would not have died. His death was a result of neglect by the ambulance crew."
Speaking earlier at the inquest, Mr Irvine's mother Linda said: "In those last moments ... I only hope he knew how much he was loved.
"They say your legacy is what you leave in people. Frazer will never see his dreams come to fruition.
"He was too big a personality to ever be forgotten. His passing has devastated our family, and he is missed every day."
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