Undertakers find 'dead' man breathing
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- cpwhitmore
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Nothing in life is certain, except death and taxes. However, Benjamin Franklin’s famous quote is only partially true if you live in south-west England, after it was revealed yesterday that a man pronounced dead by South Western Ambulance Service paramedics was later found breathing by undertakers.
Paramedics were called to the man’s house after neighbours reported that he had not been seen for four days, and after finding no palpable signs of life left the scene, leaving the police to contact the coroner.
But upon their arrival, the undertakers found the man still breathing and an ambulance was called back to the house to take him for treatment.
The incident, which occurred in November 2008, falls under the category of Serious Untoward Incidents, and was one of 62 such cases recorded in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and the Isles of Scilly between 2007 and 2009.
"When you look at these incidents, it works out at roughly less than three per 100,000 call-outs,” said Dr Andy Smith, the service’s medical director.
He added that the service had adopted a culture of openness and employees were encouraged to report any incidents immediately "so we can investigate... and learn lessons".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-11424557
Paramedics were called to the man’s house after neighbours reported that he had not been seen for four days, and after finding no palpable signs of life left the scene, leaving the police to contact the coroner.
But upon their arrival, the undertakers found the man still breathing and an ambulance was called back to the house to take him for treatment.
The incident, which occurred in November 2008, falls under the category of Serious Untoward Incidents, and was one of 62 such cases recorded in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and the Isles of Scilly between 2007 and 2009.
"When you look at these incidents, it works out at roughly less than three per 100,000 call-outs,” said Dr Andy Smith, the service’s medical director.
He added that the service had adopted a culture of openness and employees were encouraged to report any incidents immediately "so we can investigate... and learn lessons".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-11424557
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- tags:
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