The wife of a 31-year-old man who was killed in a crash last week has said the ambulance service "failed" him after taking more than an hour to arrive on the scene.

Aaron Morris died on Friday, July 1 after his motorcycle was involved in a collision on Priestburn Close in Esh Winning in County Durham.

Mr Morris, who was a father-of-three and had recently learned his wife Sam is expecting twins, had been seriously injured but later passed away in hospital.

His wife Samantha Morris, criticised the response time as she believed her husband could have stood a chance against his injuries.

Read more: Aaron Morris: Pay your respects to Esh Winning dad from County Durham here

Last night, the North East Ambulance Service apologised to the family as they said an internal review had been launched.

The Northern Echo: Aaron and Sam Morris were married last May Aaron and Sam Morris were married last May

Mrs Morris, 28, told The Northern Echo she was second on the scene following the collision and looked after her husband until paramedics arrived.

The student nurse criticised the ambulance service’s response and says she believes his death may have been preventable if he had arrived at hospital sooner.

“I know they failed my husband,” she said. “I had a 31-year-old husband who has died from preventable injuries leaving behind a pregnant wife and three children. It’s a really sad thing. I’ve gone through a very traumatic experience to lose the love of my life in these circumstances. It’s very heart-breaking."

She added: “He should still be here. He had so much to live for. He was the life and soul of every room he went into. He was such a good man. We had the best life.

“I know he had an accident in 2022 and he couldn’t get the help he needed. He died in pain and scared and he shouldn’t have.”

Mr Morris was taken to the University Hospital of North Durham but died several hours later.

Read more: North East Ambulance Service to be subjected to NHS review

NEAS classified the incident as category two, which it defines as a serious condition, such as stroke or chest pain, which may require rapid assessment and/or urgent transport.

Mrs Morris believes it should have been category one - an immediate response to a life threatening condition - and says it took longer than 50 minutes for an ambulance to arrive.

Saying she was “fuming”, she added: “My husband needed multiple first responders and an air ambulance. It’s a failure from the service.”

In response, the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) has apologised to his family for the "additional distress" after admitting its response was outside of its target time.

Read more: Thousands raised in 24 hours for dad killed in Esh Winning crash

NEAS says its response time was 50 minutes, against a standard where nine out of ten responses should arrive within 40 minutes.

Dr Mathew Beattie, Medical Director for North East Ambulance Service said, “I would like to offer our sincere condolences to Mr Morris’s family.  We were unable to reach Mr Morris as quickly as we would have liked. Our response was 50 minutes against a standard where nine out of ten responses should arrive within 40 minutes. For that we extend our apologies for the additional distress this must have caused in an already tragic situation.

“We are carrying out an internal review to see if there were any missed opportunities to respond quicker and this will be shared with the coroner. It has been widely reported that ambulance services across the country are struggling to meet response standards due to significant pressures across the NHS, but I can reassure you that we are working closely with our system partners to do everything possible to reach patients as quickly as we can.”

The Northern Echo: Flowers left at the scene of the collision in Esh Winning Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT Flowers left at the scene of the collision in Esh Winning Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT

Read more: Two arrested after trespassers enter Boeing 737 and 'damage' plane at Teesside Airport

What are the categories for ambulance response times?

Category 1: An immediate response to a life threatening condition such as cardiac or respiratory arrest – Response time to 90% of incidents: 15 minutes

Category 2: A serious condition, such as stroke or chest pain, which may require rapid assessment and/or urgent transport – Response time to 90% of incidents: 40 minutes

Category 3: An urgent problem, such as an uncomplicated diabetic issue, which requires treatment and transport to an acute setting – Response to 90% of incidents: Two hours

Category 4: A non-urgent problem, such as stable clinical cases, which requires transportation to a hospital ward or clinic: Response time to 90% of incidents: Three hours

--

Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

You can also follow our dedicated County Durham Facebook page for all the latest in the area by clicking here.

For all the top news updates from right across the region straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.

Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on newsdesk@nne.co.uk or contact 01325 505054