The patient, believed to be in her 30s, died in Newry in the early hours of Sunday (April 10) while waiting for the arrival of an ambulance sent from Belfast, the ambulance service confirmed. The ambulance arrived about 45 minutes after the woman collapsed while out with her friends. A NIAS spokesman said: “NIAS regrets that, on the night of Saturday, April 9, ambulance coverage levels fell below what was planned and expected, with the Southern Directorate being particularly affected. “The planned level of resources in the Southern Directorate on Saturday night is 10. On Saturday night only three crews were available at the start of the shift and this was further depleted by one due to illness. “Both remaining crews were not available to respond as they waited to deliver patients to the Craigavon emergency department. “As NIAS manages the service on a regional basis with the nearest ambulance available responding to the next most urgent clinical call, crews from other departments will have responded to calls in the South.” It has been reported that the woman had gone out with friends and collapsed on her way home. The spokesman added: “NIAS had three A&E support crews and an independent ambulance crew available to complement the emergency crews. “A&E support and independent crews are deployed on lower-intensity calls to protect the A&E resource for the most serious and urgent waiting calls. “NIAS would further apologize to all patients and their caregivers for any delays that occurred as a result of the reduced coverage.”
