A tragic tale emerged from an inquest into the death of a mother who passed away after an ambulance mere minutes from her home was called off. Mum-of-two Karen Ovenell, 43, from Harrietsham, Kent, dialled emergency services when she experienced acute chest pains.
Despite an initial dispatch of an ambulance following her 999 call, it was subsequently cancelled and Ms Ovenell was given the option to visit A&E or see her GP the next day. Her father, Arthur Ovenell, 68, has expressed his dismay at the NHS and ambulance service for the decision to stand down the vehicle, believing it might have been pivotal in saving her life.
He spoke out to Kent Online: “If they had turned up that night she could have stood a chance. I really believe that the ambulance service and NHS let her down.”
Mourning, Mr Ovenell added: “She was such a lovely girl. She thought the world of her two sons. We were very close. I miss her so much.”
The inquest on Tuesday, February 11, presided over by assistant coroner James Dillon, detailed how Ms Ovenell rang for an ambulance shortly after midnight on August 16, leading to a Category 2 response—an assignment for serious conditions like strokes and heart attacks. However, by 12.37 am, a call was placed to consider whether the situation warranted elevation in urgency or could be deemed less critical, reports the Express.
The inquest at Oakwood House heard that a call handler at South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) concluded within two minutes of speaking to Ms Ovenell that her symptoms did not indicate a heart condition, and subsequently cancelled the ambulance. Vikki Lewis, a clinical operations manager at SECAmb, detailed how an in-depth investigation and audit of the call revealed the handler had made this decision without utilising the primary and acute care system (PACS) tool to assess Ms Ovenell.
The audit deemed the decision as “unsafe and without based evidence”. The coroner was informed that if paramedics had been dispatched, they would have performed an ECG, identified a myocardial infarction, and transported Ms Ovenell to hospital.
Clinical supervisor Joshua Aicken-Bowley suggested that Ms Ovenell could save time by going to A&E rather than waiting for an ambulance, but she chose his alternative advice to wait until the next day due to having a young child at home. She was then advised to try and get some sleep, but was told to call 999 or go to A&E if her symptoms worsened.
A pathology report listed the cause of death as ischaemic heart disease. Mr Aicken-Bowley told the court he had never seen anyone presenting heart attack symptoms like Ms Ovenell’s.
When asked if an ECG would have detected the problem had the ambulance not been cancelled, Mr Aicken-Bowley responded: “Yes, probably.”
Darragh Coffey, the legal representative for Karen Ovenell’s partner Paul Chimes and her father, argued in court that SECAmb clinical supervisors, who were making decisions about standing down calls, didn’t have access to patients’ GP notes. Coffey suggested that it would have been more beneficial for paramedics to visit Ms Ovenell’s home and assess her condition in person.
On the night of Ms Ovenell’s tragic passing, there were 64 outstanding calls and only six ambulances available in the area. Since then, SECAmb has altered its approach to similar calls.
A spokesperson for the service expressed their condolences, saying: “Our thoughts and condolences are with Ms Ovenell’s family and friends at this difficult time.”
They added, “Following a thorough investigation we have taken steps to improve our training and operational processes, shared learning from the incident with our clinicians and, having attended the inquest, will continue to work with the coroner ahead of their findings.”
A heartfelt tribute was posted on Facebook after the inquest, reading: “Wow! Shocking! It’s bad regardless but when someone you know… WOW her poor children! Sleep peacefully Karen Ovenell Chimes”.
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