A DISTRAUGHT wife who dialled 999 was tranferred to the NHS’s non-emergency service — as she watched her husband fighting for his life.

Chris Gayther called 999 after 75-year-old husband Terry suddenly fell ill suffering from a “huge abdominal aortic aneurism”.

But the 69-year-old was left furious when she was transferred to the out-of-hours 111 service and then bombarded with “inane questions” such as ‘Do you have a dog?’.

Mrs Gayther said: “I have never called an ambulance for my husband and I certainly didn’t expect to be swerved to the 111 service.

“Terry was dying before my eyes while I was being asked inane questions including whether I had a dog or not — I just wanted to know that there was an ambulance on the way.”

Mrs Gayther, of Chetwyn Avenue, Bromley Cross, said the phone call was “one of the most frustrating and distressing experiences” of her life and has lodged a formal complaint with the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS).

But said that when paramedics Chris Lawrence and Chris Boardman did arrive, they did “a fantastic job”.

She added: “Those two men and Terry’s brilliant surgeon saved his life — they said it was unique for someone to survive an abdominal rupture as big as 9cm.”

The 111 service aims to reduce pressures on the 999 operators by handling none life-threatening situations.

NWAS has said it is important for callers to answer questions so that crews have a “picture of the scene” before they arrive and said the questions do not delay an ambulance’s response as the crew is usually already on its way.

Mrs Gayther said: “It seems that the really serious cases can be left with their lives draining away while the person requesting the ambulance is judged on the authenticity of their call.

“Deaths will occur because the paramedics are in the hands of the operators and their guidelines — I have talked to many paramedics and they all say the same.”

A spokesman for NWAS said: “We’re very sorry that Mrs Gayther and her husband are unhappy with the service provided by the Trust.

“A complaint has been received and the incident is currently under investigation. The findings will be shared with the family.

“It is very important that callers answer the series of questions our call takers ask as this can determine the category of the incident, and therefore what response is required.“The questions can also help the trust inform the ambulance crew en route as to what they may encounter on arrival at the scene.

“The trust uses the same call handling system as the majority of ambulance services in the country and one of the questions does require the caller to let the trust know if there are any dogs in the property. If so, they are asked to remove them to a safe place.”