A BLIND woman is seeking answers after she claims her sister died because of the length of time it took an ambulance to respond.

Maureen Taylor says her sister, 56-year-old Valerie O’Neil, died because the ambulance crew arrived at her sister’s home in Shildon more than three hours after neighbours called for help.

Mrs Taylor, 65, for whom Ms O’Neil was a carer, said: “We are devastated by Valerie’s death. I have got to find out what has happened. I will not be able to rest if I don’t.

“I have not only lost a sister, but I have also lost my carer. It is all very upsetting.”

Ms O’Neil suffered a fall at her home in Byerley Road at the end of September. She received hospital treatment and was discharged after a short stay.

A few days later, on September 28, neighbours were alerted after Mrs O’Neil began to feel unwell.

Mrs Taylor said: “We weren’t around and could not be contacted, so the neighbours said they telephoned the urgent healthcare number 111 and then a call was made for an ambulance.

“My sister then waited three hours and nine minutes for an ambulance. It is not clear what has happened. We understood she had to be resuscitated and was revived, but had suffered brain damage.”

Mrs Taylor said she received a telephone call in the early hours of September 29 from a member of the nursing staff at Darlington Memorial Hospital informing her that Ms O’Neil had died.

“They said it was her heart. We just don’t know what happened,” said Mrs Taylor. “We have been in touch with the coroner and have been told that an inquest will be held in March.”

She described her sister as a wonderful person, who lived life to the full, enjoyed holidays across the world and loved wildlife and cats.

Mrs Taylor said: “She was a lovely person. Because she was my carer I saw her every day and she did so much.

“She was here every day, getting the shopping, doing washing and just making sure I was okay. It is difficult not seeing her.”

Douglas McDougall, strategic head of operations at the North East Ambulance Service, said: “We would like to extend our condolences to this patient’s family and apologise for the distress caused by the delay she experienced.

“While we work hard to reach patients within the timeframes set nationally, there are occasions where particular high demand in an area can impact on our ability to respond to some patients as quickly as we would like. On occasions when a patient deteriorates during a wait, we endeavour to upgrade their call to a faster response.

“We are already in contact with the coroner in relation to this case and would encourage the patient’s family to contact our patient experience team so we can speak to them directly about the circumstances regarding our response and the patient care we provided.”

The North East Ambulance Service said it could not discuss further details at this stage.

Mrs Taylor said she would be contacting the patient experience team to voice her concerns and to urge them to investigate.

Ms O’Neil leaves four children, aged 16, 19, 26 and 31.

She is survived by Mrs Taylor and a brother.

Her funeral was in Shildon on October 26.