“NOBODY had a bad word to say about him.” That is how Lee Gannon’s sister, Colleen described the 25-year-old from Beechmount who died tragically while waiting up to nine hours for an ambulance on 15 February this year.

Colleen was speaking in the wake of the death of Jody Keenan (39) in Newry in the early hours of Sunday morning. Jody collapsed in the street and had been waiting on paramedics to come from Belfast – 38 miles away – due to a shortage of ambulances in her immediate area. The ambulance arrived 45 minutes later but she had already died. 

Speaking to the Andersonstown News, Colleen Wilson described how their mother had initially called an ambulance at a quarter-to-seven in the evening on 14 February when Lee had taken unwell.

“Lee had gone back to bed and went to sleep. He got up at midnight and was very sick and wheezy. He was struggling to breathe and mummy phoned the ambulance again at eighteen minutes past twelve. 

Lee Gannon
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Lee Gannon

“She told them that his breathing had been off, he was hallucinating and wasn’t eating or drinking. 

“Twenty minutes later mummy rang to say that he was still no different and asked when they would get here. She was told that they were really busy and that there was no ambulance available.

“She had been told at this point that he was classified as a Category One but when we went to a meeting recently, we have been informed that he was only classified as a Category Two. Apparently she was given false information.”

Colleen said that her mother rang 999 again at 26 minutes past three and said that his eyes were rolling into the back of his head and that he had gotten worse.

“They said that they would get there as quick as they could but there was no-one available. 

“Mummy rang them back at twenty to four. Lee had stopped breathing at this point. He had fallen to the floor. Daddy was told to do CPR and the ambulance didn’t arrive until four o’clock.”

Colleen explained that the paramedics tried to work on him at this point. He arrived at the hospital at twenty minutes past four where he was pronounced dead.

Reflecting on the death of Jody Keenan in a similar situation in Newry at the weekend, Colleen said that it brought everything back to their family as Jody worked with their older brother. 

“We met with the Ambulance Service and they are conducting an Adverse Incident Report which will tell us where they went wrong, where the ambulances where that night and why there wasn’t one available. 

“As a family, we know that the health service is under a lot of pressure but our loved ones are dying because of a result of this.

“My brother was 25-years-of-age. This shouldn’t have happened to him. He died of pneumonia. People are treated for pneumonia every day.

“We are absolutely heartbroken. Lee was loved by everybody and nobody had a bad word to say about him."

Colin McMenamin, from KRW Law is acting on behalf of the family. 

In a statement, he said: "We are instructed to take a challenge by way of a judicial review over the circumstances surrounding this tragedy.

"There are wider systemic failings that need to be addressed so that lessons can be learned.

"The next of kin are entitled to answers as to why their son had to wait nine hours before an ambulance attended, despite numerous emergency calls seeking help.

"We have written to the coroner and proceedings will issue in due course for the terrible loss our clients have suffered as a family."

A spokesperson for the  Northern Ireland Ambulance Service said: "The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service deeply regrets any delay in ambulance response experienced by patients and their families and carers. Such delays are not the service the public expect and deserve nor one that we seek to provide and we would apologise unreservedly for any such delay.

"Concerns relating to any aspect of provision of service are reviewed internally through the appropriate  processes within NIAS,  and we respond and engage directly with the patient and/or their families and carers and do not feel it appropriate to comment further on an individual incident."