Johannesburg – Claims that an elderly East London man died because of a five-hour ambulance delay should be probed, the public protector’s office said on Wednesday.

The man’s wife complained to Thuli Madonsela when she paid Frere Hospital an unannounced visit earlier in the day, her spokesperon Kgalalelo Masibi said in a statement.

She asked for an ambulance to be sent for her husband around 13:00 on Tuesday, but by 17:00 it had not arrived.

The woman said she was repeatedly assured that an ambulance was on its way.

At 17:00 the family rented a car to take the man to hospital, where he died.

“The EMS must investigate why the ambulance did not make it to the complainant’s house, even though call centre agents kept on telling her that it was on its way,” Madonsela said.

She said the hospital needed to investigate whether the man’s life could have been saved if the ambulance had arrived sooner.

Madonsela’s visit was part of her office’s “national stakeholder dialogue”, which would move to Gauteng next week.

– SAPA