Mother dies at home following two-hour wait for ambulance

A mother died after waiting nearly two hours for an ambulance, before her nine-year-old daughter spent hours desperately trying to wake her up.

Victoria Louisa Maame Yamphet, 40, died at her home in Dagenham, east London, last week after complaining of stomach pain as her terrified daughters, aged nine and 18, looked on.

Her 18-year-old daughter Emmanuela said her mother came home with the flu on Sunday, January 8, before her condition rapidly worsened.

‘My mother complained that her ribs and stomach ached. I offered to call an ambulance because she is not really a sick person and I knew that she was sick, ”said Emmanuela.

Their daughter Emmanuela (right), 18, said her mother came home with the flu on Sunday 8 January and quickly declined (pictured right: Emmanuela, Emily, 9, her mother Maame and her half sister Priscilla)

During the night, Maame, as she was known to friends and family, became ill, and at 6:09 am on Tuesday, January 10, her daughter called an ambulance.

Emmanuela (pictured) called the ambulance service four times before paramedics reached her mother, but it was too late. She said: ‘She just stopped breathing in front of me and my little sister. I put her in a recovery position, I did CPR on her. I called the ambulance screaming and crying so that they would arrive faster’

Initially Emmanuela was told the ambulance was six to 10 minutes away, but 20 minutes later there was still no sign of it.

The national ambulance strike began the next day, January 11.

“I called again and all of a sudden it was an hour wait,” he said.

‘I told them my mother can’t wait that long. He was distraught because she didn’t know what to do.’

They told her at 7:15 am, more than an hour after her first call, that a taxi would be sent to her house to take her mother to the hospital.

‘Before the taxi reached us, his pain got worse. She just stopped breathing in front of me and my little sister,” Emmanuela said.

I put her in a recovery position. I did CPR on him. I called the ambulance screaming and crying so that they would arrive faster.

“They literally got here in a minute, and it made me feel like when I really needed them to come, they could, but they didn’t until I started screaming and crying.”

‘When they arrived, they did everything they could, but it was already a bit late. Because my mom was in pain for an hour and 45 minutes, unfortunately… she didn’t survive.

“She went into cardiac arrest because she couldn’t breathe properly.”

Maame, as she went by, worked as a support worker for more than 20 years. Her daughter said: ‘It is very unfair. My mom was a support worker, she always took care of people, but when it was her turn, they didn’t take care of her.

Maame, as she went by, worked as a support worker for more than 20 years. Her daughter said: ‘It is very unfair. My mom was a support worker, she always took care of people, but when it was her turn, they didn’t take care of her.’

The young woman said that in addition to her disappointment in the ambulance service, she was greatly distraught when her mother’s body was left in the house with her and her nine-year-old sister Emily for six hours.

She said: ‘My little sister was on the ground next to our mother the whole time. She was crying, shaking her and trying to wake her up.

Her father, who works in the NHS, rushed home with his partner and children and when told his partner “didn’t make it, he literally started to fall apart,” his daughter said.

Maame’s daughters, who receive counseling through their schools, currently live with their aunt Sally Andrews in south London because she does not want her nieces to stay where their mother died.

Maame’s death comes as ambulance services have just announced more strikes in February that will bring more chaos amid recent outrage over long NHS waiting times.

Dr Fenella Wrigley, Medical Director of the London Ambulance Service, said:

‘We deeply regret the delay in responding to Ms Yamphet.

We are investigating our response to this 999 call and the care provided, and as part of this comprehensive review we will be contacting the family of Ms Yamphet to understand the circumstances of this incident.

“On behalf of the London Ambulance Service, I offer my sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of Mrs Yamphet.”

The cause of death for Ms. Yamphet has yet to be determined. Meanwhile, her daughter Emmanuela has created a fundraising page for his mother’s funeral: “We want to give him a decent burial,” he said.