Posted 16th Oct 2007
Debbi Miller
Why did no one help my girl?
Pamela Holt, 59, is haunted by the image of her daughter Debbi Miller, left to die from an overdose alone in her home after a fatal mix-up
16/10/2007
Pamela Holt (DM) Pamela Holt (DM)
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My heart broke as I listened to a tape of my daughter Debbi talking to a 999 operator. It was a cry for help and the last words she would utter.
"My friend has taken 40 or 50 Coproximol tablets and we need an ambulance," she pleaded. "She's saying she wants to die."
However, Debbi was talking about herself and there was no friend.
But a catastrophic catalogue of errors meant the ambulance went to the wrong address and when they found the house was empty Debbi's call was branded a hoax.
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My 39-year-old daughter died a few hours later, with only her dogs Kizzy and Sypher by her side.
The day Debbi died a part of me did, too and I'll for ever be haunted by the fact that her death was entirely avoidable.
Debbi was the second eldest of my four children. She was bright and outgoing and dreamed of having children of her own.
As her sisters Sally, Nicky and Tracey started families, Debbi was the perfect aunt.
Sadly, at 22, Debbi's dreams were shattered when she was diagnosed with endometriosis. IVF would be her only hope of conceiving.
Undeterred, a few years later she began treatment with her partner Michael. Each failed attempt hit Debbi hard and their relationship broke under the strain.
But she fought on, found her own place and met a lovely man called Richard. After a whirlwind romance, they moved in together.
Then one day came an announcement: "We're getting married," she said. Debbi chose her wedding dress and it was wonderful to see her so content.
But it was short-lived. She broke off the engagement less than a year later. It was as though Debbi thought she didn't deserve to be happy.
She sank into depression and it was shortly after her break-up with Richard that she took her first overdose.
Luckily, she called for help and I realised just how much her need to become a mum had taken over her life. She pulled through and went back to work as manager of an off-licence, but although I was relieved, my instincts told me she was struggling.
The proof came over the next couple of years when she tried to take her own life twice more. "Please get some help," I begged - but it was no use.
A turning point came in November 2004 when Debbi met Kenny. Within a few weeks, they'd moved in together.
We spent that Christmas together and when I left for a holiday in early January, Debbi was in high spirits.
"Come with me," I asked, but she refused saying she wanted to stay with Kenny.
But while I was away, there was a problem between Kenny and Debbi and the police were called.
Debbi asked police to drop the charges against him and only a few hours later, just before midnight, Debbi made that 999 call. She asked for the ambulance to be sent to 39A of her road in Plumstead, London.
Somehow, the instructions were misheard and the ambulance arrived at number 31.
Meanwhile, Debbi was at home, fighting for her life. After finding number 31 empty, police forced entry into flat 31A, only to be told the owners were away on holiday. A little less than an hour after Debbi made the call, the ambulance left, concluding it had been a hoax.
Kenny found Debbi's lifeless body the following day. The flight home seemed to take for ever. My instincts had been right and now it was too late.
Deep down, I knew Debbi didn't want to end her life and the tape was proof.
Later, a post-mortem revealed that if help had arrived, Debbi might have survived. She died around two and a half hours after making the call.
I'll always be haunted by the image of Debbi - alone and waiting for help that never arrived.
Her funeral was the saddest day of my life. We put Debbi in the wedding dress she'd bought years earlier and 400 people came to say goodbye.
I'd have done anything to bring my daughter back. Instead, I channelled my energies into something positive. I made a formal complaint and the London Ambulance Service admitted there had been a mistake. I was livid. The inquest last year heard that an ambulance was dispatched but, due to a system failure, the address wasn't verified properly and treated as a hoax call.
The coroner delivered a narrative verdict, so as to not apportion blame but to outline the facts. As Debbi had a cable phone instead of a BT line, her address didn't show up automatically.
The London Ambulance Service has since apologised for the failures that led to Debbi's death. I'm now pushing for cable companies to implement caller identity so no one else suffers the same fate as Debbi.
She's left a devastated family behind and we're determined to make sure her death wasn't in vain.
London Ambulance Service said: "We would once again like to offer our condolences to Ms Miller's family.
We carried out a full investigation into the circumstances of what happened and have recognised that genuine mistakes were made.
"We have since reviewed the procedures used when we are unable to find a patient so that a similar event can be avoided in the future."
Read heart-rending tributes to Debbi on www.gonetoosoon.co.uk
