Inquest hears an ambulance didn’t arrive at his home until the next day

A Kilburn man who was bitten by his own dog died after an ambulance crew failed to arrive to treat him until the next day.

Rajendra Davda, of Crone Court, Denmark Road, had been arguing with a man in his fourth floor bedsit when his Staffordshire bull terrier bit him on his left arm.

Westminster Coroners’ Court heard the dog was trying to protect Mr Davda when he accidentally put his hand in his pet’s way.

When a concerned friend called the London Ambulance Service (LAS) explaining Mr Davda’s arm had swollen to twice its normal size on January 18, no ambulance was sent.

Instead the call was passed over to Wayne Jordan, a nursing advisor for NHS Direct based in Newcastle, who told Mr Davda to go to hospital straight away but that he would have to use public transport, despite his injuries being potentially life threatening.

It was not until Mr Davda, who suffered from mobility problems, collapsed the following morning that an ambulance was finally sent to his home.

He was taken to St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington but the 53-year-old’s condition drastically deteriorated and on January 22 he died.

A post mortem revealed his cause of death was multiple organ failure and necrotising fasciitis – an infection which spreads between tissue plains.

Coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox said the communication breakdown between LAS, NHS Direct and Mr Davda resulted in vital information not being passed over which could have resulted in himbeing treated quicker.

She said: “This court has been concerned about the fact an ambulance was requested at 7.30pm on January 18 but an ambulance was not sent.

“Mr Davda already had problems with legs, he couldn’t walk from his bed to his toilet. Yet he was told to use public transport.”

Mr Jordan said he advised the patient to make his own way to the hospital because he believed he might get there quicker rather than waiting for an ambulance which could take up to six hours.

But Dr Wilcox said: “Communication problems made it ten times worse. Puncture wounds are extremely serious and an arm swollen twice the size would be an alarming sign for a clinician.

“His weakness and difficulty walking should have added up to a situation where someone should have had immediate, emergency help.

“The phrase ‘arm swollen twice the size’ should have been passed on and should have prompted clinical concern.”

She went onto say, however, that it is not clear whether Mr Davda would have been saved if an ambulance had been sent following the first call.”

Ms Wilcox recommended training for NHS advisors and tweaking of the system that LASand NHS Direct use to determine what injuries require an ambulance to prevent cases like this happening again.

The coroner ruled his death was accidental.