Ambulance delays cited in woman's death

A coroner has acknowledged that ambulance delays may have contributed to the death of a drunken woman who lay in a drain for five hours in freezing weather.

Hastings Coroner Chris Devonport ruled that Mt Maunganui woman Tina Bernadette Peene, 50, died on July 12 last year of hypothermia caused by exposure while she lay in the drain in "atrocious" weather conditions, The Dominion Post reported.

St John Ambulance acknowledged there was a misunderstanding between its communications centre and officers searching for Ms Peene over her exact location, and apologised.

Ms Peene got drunk at a party and was being driven home around midnight by Gordon Craig, accompanied by Mr Craig's partner.

After she tried to open the car door, Mr Craig stopped. Ms Peene got out, climbed over a metal barrier and dropped into the drain. Mr Craig and his partner could not remove her and called for an ambulance.

However, the officers searched mainly on the wrong side of the bridge, before calling off their search and notifying police at 3.13am.

They found her at 5.30am. She died at Tauranga Hospital at 8.30am.

A pathologist's report found she died of hypothermia, with acute alcohol poisoning a contributing factor.

Better communication between the ambulance communications centre and its officers could have helped find Ms Peene sooner, Mr Devonport said.

After an internal inquiry into the incident, St John improved training for communications staff and introduced new technology linking it with the police and fire services.

- NZPA