Ambulance delays during power cut possibly contributed to man’s death, coroner rules

Peter Coates’s family welcome end to years pursuing answers after he died when breathing apparatus stopped A family has welcomed a coroner’s conclusion that ambulance delays possibly contributed to a man’s death in 2019 after enduring “years of distress trying to pursue answers”. The family of Peter Coates said they had been met with “delays and resistance” from a regional ambulance service as they tried to discover the full circumstances of his final minutes. Kellie Coates, the daughter of Peter, said: “This process for us has not just been about managing grief it has been about challenging a system that seems to be more focused on protecting itself than it is on acknowledging and learning from mistakes in its processes.” Coates died aged 62 in the early hours of 14 March 2019 after a power cut stopped the mains-operated equipment he needed at home to breathe from working. An inquest in Middlesbrough heard Coates, of Redcar, rang 999 and an ambulance was dispatched by the North East ambulance service (NEAS). But the same power cut prevented the emergency vehicle from getting through electric gates at the station. A second ambulance stopped to refuel while on its