The circumstances surrounding the death of 89-year-old Kathleen Neagle were deeply disturbing but will be sadly regarded as far from unfamiliar.
Mrs Neagle lived in Dundonald, just a five-minute drive from the Ulster Hospital, and been in generally good health when she became ill nine months ago.
She was initially taken by ambulance to the nearby complex for treatment, and improved enough to be discharged, but then her condition deteriorated two days later.
Although her doctor requested another ambulance, at around 4pm on July 8, a series of alarming delays followed during the course of the evening.
Her family said that paramedics were twice dispatched to Mrs Neagle, but diverted to other calls, and by the time the emergency vehicle eventually arrived at 10pm she was dead from heart failure.
Her daughter, Meta Patterson, told the BBC yesterday she was convinced that Mrs Neagle, who was was fit for her age and had not suffered from ongoing problems, should not have died that evening, while stressing that she was blaming the system in place and not the ambulance service.
There were some striking similarities with the case of Jody Keenan (39), who collapsed while on a night out in the centre of Newry, Co Down, earlier this month.
She was within a short distance of Daisy Hill hospital in the city but the only ambulance initially available had to be dispatched from Belfast, some 40 miles away, although another eventually arrived from Banbridge.
However, Ms Keenan had already died at the scene, and a Serious Adverse Incident Review has already been announced by the ambulance service.
It was also announced last week that legal action claiming a breach of human rights is to be taken over the death in the Royal Victoria hospital last February of Lee Gannon (25), from west Belfast, who had to wait nearly nine hours for an emergency crew after suffering breathing difficulties.
Lawyers representing his mother are alleging a systemic lack of ambulance availability and say they fear the delays contributed to Mr Gannon’s death.
The level of public concern over emergency services has been rising steadily and it is essential that it is addressed as soon as the Assembly election has taken place.
It will be up to the electorate to pass judgment on politicians who not only fail to prioritise health issues but actually threaten to prevent a new Stormont administration from being formed.
