As I read this story, I understand why many people are afraid to grow old.
Sometimes we fail to look after of our elderly, forgetting about them as we go about our business in our own self-centered world.
Anne Roome was a 68-year-old woman who lived alone in an apartment in Derby, England.
Her daughter lives in New Zealand so when she started to feel ill and struggled to breathe she reached for the phone to ask for help.
In an astonishing 26 calls to a medical helpline, no ambulance was dispatched to take her to hospital and the retiree was left to die alone in her apartment.
An inquest into her death heard an emotional statement from her daughter Rebekah Burgess who told the court her mother “died alone and in pain”
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In the U.K. most people call 999 for emergency services but there is also a service call 111 which was set up for non-emergency calls. 111 staff in some areas are still able to call an ambulance.
Anne Roome died from bronchopneumonia, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, according to BBC News.
The 68-year-old’s first call to the emergency service came in at 6:35 p.m. on June 16, 2014, her last happened several hours later at 05:41 the following morning. Her carer found her body a few hours later, the inquest heard.
Anne’s daughter Rebekah, who flew to the UK for the inquest said her mom, “deserved a hand to hold as she took her last breath.”
The emergency service apologized to Anne’s family for their “failings” and said it has improved its service since Anne’s death.
How sad! Why on earth didn’t they send someone out to check on her?! What do you think about this tragic case?
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