The death of a 2-year-old girl has raised questions about impacts of staffing problems on the emergency response industry.
Massachusetts officials are investigating the emergency response involved in a toddler's death, from an apparent medical emergency, last week, according to police in Winthrop.
The girl, 2 years old, was rushed from a home in Winthrop to Massachusetts General Hospital in the back of the Winthrop fire chief's work SUV on Friday, officials have said. No ambulance was available to respond to a Pleasant Street home for a child in distress, high-level sources told the NBC10 Boston Investigators Friday.
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Police told NBC10 Boston Monday that the Massachusetts Office of Emergency Medical Services, which oversees all EMS resources in the state, was investigating the incident. NBC10 Boston has reached out to the office for comment.
The state Department of Public Health also confirmed it has received a serious incident report from Action Ambulance — a requirement in serious incidents, which include undue delay of treatment or transportation.
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“The recent death of a 2-year-old Winthrop child is heartbreaking, and our thoughts are with her grieving family during this difficult time. Action Ambulance has submitted a serious incident report to the Department of Public Health. The Department is awaiting the ambulance service’s thorough investigation report and plan of correction," a DPH spokesperson said in a statement.
Winthrop's fire and police chiefs met Monday with the town manager and Action Ambulance Service, the town's contracted emergency medical service provider, to discuss local emergency response. The issue has reignited the issue of emergency resource availability in Massachusetts.
At least 23 minutes went by between the 911 call and the 2-year-old girl's arrival at Massachusetts General Hospital. Officials have said that the closest ambulance was 20 minutes away and that Wiley was able to get to the hospital faster, while two EMTs cared for the child in the SUV, though he continued to try and meet an ambulance on the drive to the hospital.
Speaking with reporters on Monday, Wiley said Action Ambulance regularly meets performance metrics and that it was an unfortunate set of circumstances, with calls coming in at 9:56 a.m. and 10 a.m. that required transport, and the third call for the toddler coming in at around 10:20 a.m.
The child was pronounced dead at 11:19 a.m. Friday morning, state police said. She hasn't been publicly identified.
The Suffolk County District Attorney's Office has said the evidence does not suggest foul play. State police later added that the child had an illness in recent days and was at home with her mother, according to a preliminary investigation.
An autopsy was being conducted by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
Sources told the NBC10 Boston Investigators the incident happened at the home of former Winthrop Police Lt. James Feeley, who was arrested last month on child rape charges, though it wasn't clear if there was any connection to him — he remains behind bars.
