Emma Blehs, 48, said she spent 22 minutes trying to revive her dying husband Paul after being put on hold by a 999 operator

A devastated widow has told of how she was put on hold for 10 minutes before being connected to the ambulance service after husband suffered a fatal heart attack.

Emma Blehs, 48, said she spent 22 minutes trying to revive her dying husband Paul after being put on hold by a 999 operator.

The mother-of-two from Bournemouth, Dorset, frantically tried to resuscitate the 47-year-old while on speaker phone.

Emma Blehs, 48, said she spent 22 minutes trying to revive her dying husband Paul after being put on hold by a 999 operator

Emma Blehs, 48, said she spent 22 minutes trying to revive her dying husband Paul after being put on hold by a 999 operator

Emma Blehs, 48, said she spent 22 minutes trying to revive her dying husband Paul after being put on hold by a 999 operator

An ambulance eventually arrived at the couple’s home 22 minutes after Mr Blehs stopped breathing – despite them living just two miles from the nearest hospital.

Paramedics worked on him for an hour before taking him to hospital where he was placed on a ventilator.

But sadly the father-of-one never regained consciousness and his life support was later switched off.

Now his widow is demanding answers of South West Ambulance Service which is conducting an internal review over four months after his death in May.

Mrs Blehs, a veterinary nurse from Bournemouth, Dorset, said she lives just a three minute blue-light drive away from the Royal Bournemouth Hospital.

Paramedics worked on Paul for an hour before taking him to hospital where he was placed on a ventilator

Paramedics worked on Paul for an hour before taking him to hospital where he was placed on a ventilator

Paramedics worked on Paul for an hour before taking him to hospital where he was placed on a ventilator

She has requested a recording of her 999 call to try and find out what went wrong.

The 48-year-old mother-of-two, whose first husband also died of a heart attack six years ago, said Mr Blehs had always been fit and healthy before he suffered the fatal heart attack.

She said: ‘It went wrong because I was on hold for so long.

‘The phone rang and rang for ages – around two minutes. Somebody answered, I said ‘my husband’s heart has stopped and he isn’t breathing’.

‘I couldn’t have been clearer. That’s not somebody you put on hold. The call handler said he’d put me straight through – but every few minutes he’d come back and say, ‘sorry, we’re still trying to connect you’.

The father-of-one was placed on a ventilator but sadly never regained consciousness and had his life support was later switched off

The father-of-one was placed on a ventilator but sadly never regained consciousness and had his life support was later switched off

The father-of-one was placed on a ventilator but sadly never regained consciousness and had his life support was later switched off

‘All this time I was trying to resuscitate my dead husband.

‘I was on the phone for 22 minutes while trying to resuscitate Paul. For 10 of those minutes I kept getting put on hold by the 999 call operator.

‘I live a three-minute blue lights journey from the hospital.

‘I know as a vet nurse myself that with lack of oxygen to the brain, within six minutes your organs start to shut down – so I knew he wasn’t coming back.’

Mrs Blehs added: ‘I don’t want heads on a block as nothing is going to bring him back, I just want them to tell me why.

‘The paramedics did an amazing job but the damage was done. Also with the call handlers, this wasn’t their fault, it’s the system that needs to change.

‘Change is needed because this wasn’t a broken leg, Paul died as a result of not getting a faster emergency response.

‘The ambulance service does amazing work, but I don’t want this to happen to anyone else.’

Mrs Blehs, a veterinary nurse from Bournemouth, Dorset, said she lives just a three minute blue-light drive away from the Royal Bournemouth Hospital

Mrs Blehs, a veterinary nurse from Bournemouth, Dorset, said she lives just a three minute blue-light drive away from the Royal Bournemouth Hospital

Mrs Blehs, a veterinary nurse from Bournemouth, Dorset, said she lives just a three minute blue-light drive away from the Royal Bournemouth Hospital

A SWASFT spokesperson said: ‘We would like to offer our sincere condolences to the family and friends of Mr Blehs. 

‘We are currently conducting an internal review into this incident, and the findings will be shared with his next of kin on completion. 

‘The whole health and social care system has been under sustained pressure for many months now. Our performance has not returned to pre-pandemic levels, partly due to handover delays at emergency departments’. 

Described by his widow as a ‘a wonderful person’, Mr Blehs was a renowned angler whose funeral on June 23 was attended by 200 people. 

He leaves behind his wife, son, and two stepdaughters from a previous marriage.

MailOnline has contacted Royal Bournemouth Hospital for comment. 


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