Re: Stephen Thurman Newell

Marcus Coates-Walker was instructed by Irwin Mitchell Solicitors to appear at a 3-day inquest into the death of a former police officer who died from an asthma attack after facing delays in an ambulance being sent to his home.

Stephen Thurman-Newell repeatedly pleaded “help me” and told 999 call handlers that he was struggling for breath and did not want to die. Despite that, available ambulance resource was not dispatched for 17 minutes. By the time the first paramedic arrived at the 62-year-old’s property, 36 minutes had passed since Stephen had initially dialled for help. Resuscitation was attempted but he was sadly pronounced dead approximately 30 minutes later.

The Coroner gave a narrative conclusion and has now requested details of how ambulance trusts across the country triage asthma attacks. The Coroner may recommend that all trusts should adopt a system which triages these incidents as the highest possible emergency.

This inquest attracted media attention, read more here.