 Katie Evans had enjoyed a day out in Llandudno before becoming ill |
The family of a toddler who died of natural causes are asking why an ambulance took 19 minutes to reach her. An inquest in Liverpool recorded a verdict of death by natural causes on 18-month old Katie Louise Evans from Blaenau Ffestiniog.
She died in hospital in April two days after lapsing into unconsciousness.
Relatives said while Katie might not have been saved by the ambulance reaching its eight minute target, another child might be saved in future.
Speaking after the inquest, which contained no mention of the ambulance delay, Katie's grandmother Marilyn Lewis, said the family remained angry.
"They didn't say a thing about the ambulance taking so long to arrive, so we are still in the dark as to whether it might have saved Katie's life.
"She was obviously very ill, so perhaps it wouldn't have made any difference. We'll never know for sure.
"But we are still angry because even if a quicker response wouldn't have saved Katie, it might save another child one day."
Katie had become unwell two or three days before her death with sickness and diarrhoea.
Her mother, 22-year-old Kayley Evans, had taken her to GP and had then given her daughter some children's medication.
On the 22 April, she fell asleep with her mother on the sofa.
 Katie's parents say they feel that they have been let down |
Ms Evans awoke just after midnight and realised her daughter was unconscious.
An ambulance was called and they were expecting it to arrive within minutes as the station is a few hundred yards from her house.
Instead they waited nearly 20 minutes for paramedics to arrive. Katie was then taken to Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor, before being flown to Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool.
There she was operated on but her condition became critical and her life-support system was switched off on 24 April.
 |  The ambulance station was just around the corner. It could've been there in three minutes. It's let me down, it's let my daughter Katie down |
At the hearing on Tuesday, Coroner Andre Rebello said Katie died from natural causes brought on by cardio-respiratory failure after developing a lung and bowel infection.
Speaking outside court, Katie's father 25-year-old Gary Lewis, a technician, said "We will be taking the matter further. I would like some answers as to why there was this delay. I don't want this happening again."
'Remembering Katie'
"The ambulance station was just around the corner. It could've been there in three minutes. It's let me down, it's let my daughter Katie down."
The Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust apologised for the delay and offered its condolences.
A spokesperson said: "A thorough investigation was undertaken and the results of this were shared with the family on 26 May, 2005."
The family said they were told the reason for the delays was because the crew were dealing with another emergency at the time.
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