A WOMAN from Barry has described the harrowing events that led to her husband’s death, which she says could have been avoided if an ambulance turned up on time.

Robert Weekley was pronounced dead on January 4 just before 5am after his wife says she phoned for an ambulance to come to the house six times.

Lesley Weekley, of the town’s Cei Dafydd area, was forced to give her husband CPR before paramedics arrived on the scene only to tell her it was too late.

Warning: The below extract contains upsetting details

In a shocking blow-by-blow account written by Mrs Weekley, she begins by saying her husband woke at 2.10am on Wednesday, January 4, and asked to get some medication as he had a trapped wind feeling in his chest. Mrs Weekley described her husband as cold and clammy, and said he became incoherent.

At 2.18am she rang 999, and was told to give him four aspirin tablets to chew, but Mr Weekley could not keep them down so Mrs Weekley was promised a clinician would ring back.

At 2.36am Mrs Weekley rang 999 again and explained her husband had deteriorated further. The call handler told her to administer four aspirin tablets to chew, which she says her husband managed to do, but crucially there was no promised call from a clinician.

At 2.55am Mrs Weekley rang 999 once again saying her husband was extremely cold, clammy, and in pain, and although he was breathing, she couldn’t get a pulse. Again there was no phone call from a clinician.

At 3.11am Mrs Weekley rang 999 saying she could not get her husband’s pulse. She was told to phone again if he deteriorated further. There was still no call from a clinician, which she said she was promised almost an hour earlier.

At 3.32am Mrs Weekley rang 999 saying she “begged” for an ambulance. At this point her husband stopped breathing while she was on the call.

After dragging him off the bed and performing chest compressions on the floor, paramedics finally arrived at what Mrs Weekley recalls was roughly 4am.

She emphasied the paramedics were “absolutely brilliant” as they tried to revive Mr Weekley, but tragically he was pronounced dead at 4.45am.

Mrs Weekley summed the situation up by saying, “You have taken my husband from me. It took six 999 calls! I am still reeling with shock and absolutely devastated.”

Barry And District News:

(Lesley Weekley, pictured, wrote a harrowing account of how her husband died waiting for an ambulance)

Mrs Weekley was too upset to speak in person, but one of her daughters did speak on her behalf.

Niki Thompson described her mum and dad as soul mates who had been together for 40 years. She says the family still cannot believe what happened.

“People say this is the way it is at the moment, no, that is not the way it should be. It is completely unacceptable,” said Niki.

“If they had got here, my dad would still be alive. We are all absolutely reeling from this.”

Liam Williams, executive director of quality and nursing at the Welsh Ambulance Service, has offered his condolences.

“We are really sorry to hear about such a distressing incident,” said Mr Williams.

“This is not the service we aim to deliver. We will be contacting Mrs Weekley to listen to her concerns, investigate the circumstances of our response and answer any questions she may have. 

“We recognise that too many patients are having a poor experience, which is something we are extremely concerned about.

“We are working hard with health board colleagues and the Welsh Government to find solutions to long waits in the community for ambulances, but these issues are complex and not easily fixed, dependent as they are on so many elements.”

Barry And District News:

(Robert 'Squeaky' Weekley was described as fit and healthy before his sudden death)

Niki described her father as a “well-loved man”, fit, healthy and active in the community.

In his time, Robert ‘Squeaky’ Weekley was captain of both London Welsh Rugby Club and Barry Rugby Club, and a keen keyboardist who was part of a band.

Niki finished by not only describing her father as loved, but strong.

“He fought for two hours,” added Niki. “If they had come straight away he would still be here, that is why we are so angry.”

A JustGiving page has been set up by the Weekleys to support Mr Weekley’s funeral costs. Click here to donate.