Coroner calls for action after man died when ambulance went to wrong address

LocalHealth & Fitness
23 Mar 2026 • 9:51 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

image is not available

  • Darryl Johnson, 52, from Sandy, Bedfordshire, died from an untreated pulmonary thrombo-embolism after an ambulance was dispatched to the wrong address.
  • Johnson had called emergency services complaining of breathing problems and feeling faint, symptoms consistent with his eventual cause of death.
  • An ambulance was sent to 27a Market Square instead of Johnson's correct address, 27b Market Square, despite him providing the right details.
  • Coroner Emma Witting ruled that Johnson might have been found alive if the ambulance had been sent to the correct address over 15 hours earlier.
  • Ms Witting raised concerns that the East of England Ambulance Services Trust's address database, supplied by Ordnance Survey, is not always accurate or up to date.

IN FULL