Inquest hears how injured London Bridge victims endured a three-hour wait for emergency medics
POLICE and the public had to treat victims of the London Bridge attacks due to the “chaotic conditions”, the terror inquest heard yesterday.
Officers were unaware paramedics had been told by armed cops to evacuate the area.
Paul Woodrow, London Ambulance Service director, said his team struggled with “situational awareness”.
And he admitted it took too long to make a decision to commit specialists to treat victims.
The inquest into the deaths of eight people heard armed cops stopped medics entering a courtyard where five died after reports of gunfire.
A high-security “hot zone” — unsafe for medical staff — was placed over the vicinity, leaving police waiting for assistance that did not arrive.
Jonathan Hough QC, counsel to the inquest, asked: “Could more have been done to ensure these officers were told staff could not get to them?”
INSUFFICIENT URGENCY
Mr Woodrow replied: “There were communication issues in terms of understanding where resources were.”
But he said the problems on June 3, 2017, had to be seen within the context of the “chaotic conditions”.
He added they received 134 calls that night from many locations.
The inquest heard French chef Sebastien Belanger, 36, may have been saved had he received quicker and higher quality attention.
The atrocity began at 9.58pm but paramedics did not enter the courtyard until after 1am.
Gareth Patterson QC, representing victims’ families, said: “There was insufficient urgency and the processes were insufficient for getting victims out of that courtyard.”
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Mr Woodrow said staff did “a fantastic job in difficult circumstances”.
He added: “It’s not realistic to expect we can get 100 to 150 people into an area in the first ten minutes of an incident.”
The inquest at the Old Bailey continues.
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