Lee Christopher, 35, asked the 999 operator how long paramedics would be “just so I know” as he battled to stay conscious at home while suffering sudden pain in his chest

A father tragically died from a heart attack after an ambulance, which he was told would arrive in 18 minutes, was never dispatched.

Call records reveal that Lee Christopher, 35, asked the 999 operator about the arrival time of paramedics as he struggled to stay conscious at home due to sudden chest pain.

Lee and his partner Brooke resided in Oxted, Surrey, which would have been less than a 20-minute drive from a hospital at 3.19am in June last year.

After dialling emergency services, the couple naturally assumed help was on its way, with Brooke doing her best to keep Lee comfortable as he sat on their living room floor.

For approximately 25 minutes, Lee, whose 12-year-old daughter was asleep upstairs, bravely held on to consciousness while waiting for assistance.

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At 3.44am, as Lee lost consciousness, Brooke called 999 again and began performing CPR under the guidance of the operator.

An ambulance didn’t arrive until 46 minutes after Lee’s initial call, and the family were devastated to learn that one was only sent out following Brooke’s second call.

South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SECAmb) has admitted to Lee’s family that he was given an incorrect local response time by a call handler who instead quoted a “national average target”.

SECAmb stated that the staff member had been provided with “feedback”.

Lee’s sister Sheri Phillips spoke to the Daily Express, saying: “There’s a chance Lee could have survived if he had been told the correct response time, people can survive heart attacks if they get help in time, he could have made the decision to get to hospital himself and got help.

“At 3.19am, Lee rang 999 from his phone. He said he was having a heart attack, he was sick and nauseous, he was sat by the back door just trying to find a comfortable position.

“He said to the 999 operator, ‘how long? just so I know’, and they told him that an ambulance would be there within 18 minutes.

“I can imagine him holding on and thinking, ‘it’s ok, they are going to be here any second’, but no ambulance had even been dispatched and he’d been given the wrong response time.

“Brooke’s call was 25 minutes later and no doubt Lee had struggled to stay alert and breathing for that time.”

When help finally arrived, it saw three separate medical teams reach the couple’s residence, with the initial team arriving at about 4.07am.

By then, Brooke had faced the harrowing task of performing CPR on her partner for over twenty minutes.

Sheri, who is proficient in CPR due to her work as an airline cabin crew member, added: “If the ambulance had come in the time they told Lee, they could have been there with equipment when he stopped breathing, or he could have got to the hospital in a car.

“It could have been so different, but the actions of the ambulance service ultimately gave my brother no chance.

“Anyone would know that doing CPR is an awful thing anyway, but to do it on someone you know and love is just horrendous.

“During the call, they said to Brooke is there anyone else in the house that can help, and Brooke said she was by herself and it’s just his 12-year-old daughter who is asleep upstairs.

“They asked, ‘could you go and wake her, and get her to help?’, and all I can say is, thank God Brooke didn’t. From that point onwards it was just horrific.”

SECAmb correspondence to Lee’s family indicates that a “call handling guide” was introduced in March and February of last year, instructing staff to provide a local “computer-generated average wait time”, but the service confesses they did not issue this information and erroneously provided a national average.

In their statement, SECAmb extended their sympathy and condolences: “Our sympathies and sincere condolences are with Mr Christopher’s family and friends.”

The service also expressed regret: “We work hard to respond to all patients as quickly as possible, and we are very sorry we were unable to respond to Mr Christopher within the expected timeframe.”

Speaking about Lee’s character, Brooke shared that he was “someone who would help anyone” and mentioned his recent efforts in setting up a home gym in the garage.

Tragically, the family had planned a holiday to Cyprus just three days after Lee passed away. She fondly remembered him, saying: “He was the best, he was an absolutely brilliant dad, he was sensible, thoughtful and always spoiling us.

“We were homely as a couple and loved spending time together as a family.”

The family, having been denied an inquest into Lee’s death on two occasions, firmly believe the decision is unjust. Brooke expressed her disbelief: “I think with the response we’ve had from the NHS, that they’ve admitted what was said to him, we cannot believe that there’s been no investigation, it’s just shocking.”

Despite being allotted more than a week to issue a statement, the Surrey Coroner’s Office has not furnished any comment.