THE North Wales vascular services will be scrutinised at the inquest into a Gwynedd man later this year.

Painter and decorator John Ellis Jones died at Glan Clwyd Hospital on March 5,2021.

At a pre-inquest hearing in Ruthin, it was said that, among the several issues being examined were a possible ambulance delay, communication issues, problems over transmission of images and the treatment he received.

The provisional cause of death given at the time was multi-organ failure due to bowel ischemia, a deficient blood supply.

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Mr Jones, 57, of Bro Rhiden, Rhiwlas, near Bangor, was taken to Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor and transferred to Ysbyty Glan Clwyd which, since 2019, has been the centre for vascular surgery in North Wales.

Medics discussed his case with specialists in the Royal Liverpool Hospital who advise their colleagues in Glan Clwyd on such cases.

Barrister Trish Gaskell, representing the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, told the pre-hearing that there was a delay of about three hours in transmitting images to Liverpool.

“Without those images they were reluctant to accept Mr Jones for treatment,” said John Gittins, coroner for North Wales East and Central.

Mr Jones underwent surgery at Glan Clwyd, about 12 hours after an ambulance had been called to his home.

It was agreed that the Welsh Ambulance Services Trust, The Betsi Cadwaladr Board, Royal Liverpool Hospital and Liverpool Heart and Chester Hospital should be regarded as interested parties at the full inquest, which will be held later this year.

Miss Gaskell said that since Mr Jones’s death changes had been made in the transmission of images.

Earlier this year, the Royal College of Surgeons published a damning report on the region’s vascular services, highlighting concerns on several of the 44 cases examined.

Health Inspectorate Wales subsequently categorised the service as “requiring significant improvement”.