FATAL WAIT

A DOCTORS union claims a man’s life could have been saved if an ambulance ‘just five minutes away’ had been sent to an emergency call. Instead, an ambulance was sent from Elche, 25 minutes away, with the man dying before it arrived.

The tragedy occurred as Alicante’s emergency coordination centre was closed in January and all calls were routed to Valencia.

In the alarming incident a woman dialled the emergency number at 3am over Easter saying her husband was unconscious at her home in La Marina village, near Elche.

The situation needed a rapid life-saving response, but the Valencia centre decided to mobilise a SAMU ambulance from Elche, some 30 kilometres away.

Death

Meanwhile, an ambulance was available across the municipality border in Rojales - a mere seven kilometre drive.

The Medical Union has filed a complaint following the man’s death which it described as a ‘very serious matter’.

A union representative said: “It takes 25 minutes to travel from Elche crossing towns with local roads and speed bumps that prevent fast driving, with the man having died by the time paramedics arrived.

“The result could have been very different with the Rojales ambulance just five minutes away,” he added.

SAMU said they regretted what happened which is why they were opposed to centralising emergency dispatches in Valencia and it agreed that despite La Marina being part of Elche, ‘due to its proximity’, a Rojales crew should have been dispatched.

Somewhat worryingly, the SAMU spokesperson pointed out that ‘this type of incident has already occurred several times’ since January.

April Fooled

How an Olive Press reporter’s joke tortilla caused a national outrage