Lives at risk as critically ill Croydon patients left waiting by 'understaffed' London Ambulance Service

A third of all critically ill patients, including those who have stopped breathing and no longer have a pulse, are being left waiting too long for paramedics following 999 calls in Croydon.

The partner of an Addiscombe grandmother who died of a heart attack in January, after an ambulance took more than 90 minutes to reach her, said this week he feared more people would die.

Harry Smith watched Monica Lewis, 54, deteriorate as she waited for paramedics after suffering an epileptic fit at their home in Freemason's Road, just ten minutes away from Croydon University Hospital.

The 74-year-old said yesterday: "If they had responded in time they would have saved her. As far as I'm concerned, they killed her.

"If nothing changes it will happen again."

NHS targets state ambulances should respond to 75 per cent of calls deemed immeadiately life-threatening - known as category A - within eight minutes. 

London Ambulance Service (LAS) has missed all but two of its last 34 monthly category A targets for Croydon.

Two-thirds of category A call-outs in Croydon have received a response within eight minutes so far this financial year, while last year the rate was 62 per cent.

Overall 57 per cent of category A patients were reached within eight minutes last month, worse than in every London borough except Barnet.

The poor performance has provoked concern at Croydon CCG, which pays LAS £13.4m a year for its services. 

A CCG report, published this week, said: "The root causes centre around recruitment and retention, with paramedic levels under the established numbers.

"LAS has been unable to meet required levels of shift cover and unable to cope with surges in demand."

Patient watchdog Healthwatch Croydon also said it was "disappointed" with LAS's the performance in the borough last month.

A spokesman added: "Despite the recruitment drive and greater emphasis on responding to Category A calls, [August] was the worst performance since March this year, and significantly below the London average."

LAS, which has previously been hamstrung by high staff turnover and allegations of bullying, last year launched a major recruitment drive it hopes will bring in 1,000 more frontline workers by the end of 2015.

Athar Khan, the trust's Croydon sector manager, said: "Increasing demand and a shortage of frontline staff are the main reasons for the pressure we are facing in Croydon. 

"In 2014/2015, we attended more than 21,000 calls in Croydon of a life-threatening nature from a total of 46,000 incidents. Croydon is the busiest London borough in terms of demand for emergency ambulance crews." 

'They killed her'

The partner of a grandmother who died after waiting more than an hour for an ambulance said he was certain she would have survived if paramedics had arrived sooner.

Harry Smith called 999 at 12.29am after Monica Lewis, 54 suffered a severe epileptic fit on January 16.

A first responder in a car and an ambulance were despatched to their Addiscombe home but because the mother-of-two was still conscious and breathing, both were diverted to calls judged to be more urgent.

After Ms Lewis stopped breathing, an operator upgraded her status to category A - but paramedics still did not arrive until for 23 minutes. 

Grieving: Harry Smith

A first response reached her at 1.39am, nine minutes after she suffered a fatal heart attack.

An ambulance finally arrived at 2am - having been sent from Brixton, rather than Croydon University Hospital just ten minutes away.

Mr Smith, 74, who had been in a relationship with the divorced grandmother-of-seven since 2008, said this week: "If they had responded in time they would have saved her. As far as I'm concerned, they killed her.

"If nothing changes it will happen again. They are complacent. They were incompetent. They cost her her life."

He added: "I am still so messed up by it. I grieve for her every day."