Inquiry into deaths after ambulance delays

As reported by the BBC, the Northern Ireland ambulance service is investigating whether a delayed response contributed to the deaths of eight people in recent weeks

All eight deaths occurred between 12 December and the start of January. At this stage four of the deaths are being treated as serious adverse incidents.

The remaining cases are being investigated to determine whether they meet the criteria to be treated as an serious adverse incidents.

A serious adverse incident is one that led to unintended or unexpected harm.

The ambulance service has been under severe pressure for months.

A delay in offloading patients from ambulances to emergency departments is a major problem as ambulances are therefore not able to go on to the next call.

Some patients have been waiting up to nine hours in an ambulance as they await admission to hospital.