Mother of baby Bella Hellings speaks out about ambulance postcode lottery

Posted 18/02/2014

Former ambulance service chief executive, Roger Thayne has called for an inquiry into why ambulance services in some areas of the country appear to be performing better than others.

Figures obtained by the BBC and published on the BBC News website today, indicate a significant variance in the performance of the country’s 12 ambulance services. It is believed that this postcode lottery could be costing 2,500 lives a year.

Mr Thayne believes ambulance crew delays could be a major factor.

As part of its research, the BBC interviewed Amy Carter, the mother of baby Bella Hellings. Bella, who suffered from a congenital heart disease, died on 3 March last year at just three months old, after an ambulance took 26 minutes to reach her home in Thetford.

Sharon Allison, a medical injury specialist at Ashtons Legal, is representing Bella’s parents, Amy Carter and Scott Hellings. An inquest into Bella’s death was held in September last year, where Coroner William Armstrong described a “catalogue of catastrophes” that led to the delay.

The East of England Ambulance NHS Trust has acknowledged errors in a number of cases, including Bella’s. The couple are taking legal action against the Trust.

Read more here. The full interview with Amy will be broadcast tonight (Tuesday 18 February) on The World Tonight on BBC Radio 4 at 10.00pm.