Sheriff wants social work included in inquiry into grandad's death 'two days after' call for ambulance

A sheriff has said he believes the social work department should be included in an inquiry into the death of a man who reportedly waited almost two days for an ambulance to arrive at his home.

Gerard Brown, 65, died after a fall at his home in Glasgow in September 2021.

A fatal accident inquiry (FAI) into his death is to take place, meaning a sheriff will examine the circumstances and establish if any precautions could have been taken, but will not apportion blame.

Gerard Brown passed away after waiting 40 hours for an ambulance. Supplied

A preliminary hearing was held on Tuesday morning at Glasgow Sheriff Court.

Prosecutor Nicole Lewis, Tom Brownlee representing the Scottish Ambulance Service board, and Sheriff Brian Cameron debated whether the social work service should be included in the inquiry.

Ms Lewis stated that Mr Brown did not assist or answer the phone to the social work department when they engaged with him.

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Mr Brownlee said: “This is a question that needs to be asked with the condition he was in whether there should have been an obligation by social work to act.”

Sheriff Cameron followed up and said: “I think they should be an interested party.”

Ms Lewis later told the hearing that there are two expert witnesses in England and Wales who will give evidence remotely.

“If they had got there my dad would still be here. How are you meant to deal with that?”
Dylan Brown

She added: “Most of the evidence is capable of agreement – we are looking at a period of less than 48 hours which would be examined in the FAI.

“It won’t be more than one week for the actual inquiry.”

A further preliminary hearing has been fixed for April.

Mr Brown fell at his home in Glasgow on September 6, but paramedics did not reach him until two days later, on Wednesday, September 8, by which point he had died.

The dad-of-three weighed only six stone and had survived cancer and suffered from a number of health issues.

He died at his home and his family say his body was still warm when paramedics got there shortly after 3am.

The former engineer had fallen and was unable to get up to unlock his door in Dumbreck, and was dangerously dehydrated and requiring oxygen treatment.

A concierge gained access to the property and called for an ambulance at 11am telling Mr Brown’s family they faced a ten-hour wait.

“I said ‘this man is going to be found dead’ – and I used that language, because I knew the situation he was in.”
Dr Patrick O’Neill

The crisis was branded “third world” by Mr Brown’s GP, Dr Patrick O’Neill, who had intervened to urge for it to be prioritised.

The case was referred to the Procurator Fiscal and the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman. The Scottish Ambulance Service promised to “learn” from the tragedy.

Days after his death, Mr Brown’s heartbroken son Dylan told STV News: “They pronounced that he was only just dead because he still had warmth in his body.

“In this day and age, it should not be happening.

“I know with Covid people are busy and the NHS is struggling, but that’s unacceptable and we just don’t want it happening to another family.

“The worst thing about it is that Dr O’Neill said to me, ‘Dylan, I can assure you that if they’d got to him your dad would still be here’.

“That’s the hardest part to accept.

“That’s what led to us saying we need to do something about it because this cannot happen to any other families.

Dr O’Neill said he was first made aware of Mr Brown’s condition by his ex-wife on Monday morning, after she phoned the practice to let them know that the family were waiting for an ambulance.

He said: “Then at 9am on Tuesday we get a phonecall from his ex-wife to say ‘listen, he’s still in the house’.

“I was like ‘you are kidding me?’.

“I got on the phone to the ambulance service at 9.15am and I said ‘this man is going to be found dead’ – and I used that language, because I knew the situation he was in.

“It’s happening across the board and it’s not their fault – it’s shortages – but you assume when you put in a 999 call that these people are going to be picked up.”

The FAI is expected to focus on on call handling and response times by the Scottish Ambulance Service.