swns_wilce_wait_07

COLLECT - John Henry Wilce. See ROSS PARRY story RPYWAIT. A heartbroken family have called for answers after their sick father was left waiting nearly 12 hours for an ambulance. The family of John Henry Wilce say the delayed response by the North East Ambulance Service [NEAS] played a major part in the 86-year-old's death. The former RAF serviceman was seen by a doctor at his home at around 4pm on October 20, with a request made for an ambulance to take him to the Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital in Cramlington by 6pm. However, no ambulance turned up. Mr Wilce suffered a fall at 1am and, after ringing the ambulance's call centre, the family said they were told to leave him lying on the floor. An ambulance finally arrived just before 5am, but Mr Wilce died in hospital at 2pm on October 21, with doctors saying he had suffered a ruptured aneurysm.