Family 'still can't accept' son's asthma death

The family of a man who died following a severe asthma attack say they cannot accept he is gone and blame the ambulance service for not taking his condition seriously enough.

Roman Barr, 22, from Coventry, died in December 2023 after his family had to drive him to hospital - during which they had a car crash - as he had been assessed as a category two emergency and faced several hours waiting for an ambulance.

An inquest into his death in March concluded that on the balance of probabilities, earlier intervention by paramedics would have prevented his death.

West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) told the BBC it had apologised to Roman's family and had since implemented a number of changes.

The 22-year-old's family continue to visit his gravestone near their home in Coventry, but continue to find his death hard to accept.

Roman's dad Darren, who had called WMAS on the day of his death on 14 December 2023, said his son "should be stood by me".

He said the pair were best friends and would often train together in the gym.

"[Roman] should be basking in the sun, he should be with us, he should be smiling and joking," Barr said.

"To realise that my son is there, I can't accept, I just can't accept it, I still can't accept it.

"Just despair, just watching him gasping for air next to me, every time I turn he's gasping for air. I want no one to go through this," he added.

The crash the family was involved in as they drove to the hospital resulted in Roman's mum Tazz suffering serious injuries.

At the family's home, she has made a special shrine for her son, who was born premature weighing only one pound.

"I'm broken, not having my boy with me," she said.

"It's not fair, he should be here with me, us, they took everything of us. They've destroyed us."

Darren said the family would feel proud if they could save "one more life" after their experience.

"If we can save one more life then Roman's life wasn't wasted and we'll feel proud that we're helping people," he said.

"Like I said we haven't got our son but if Roman's legacy is there carrying on, then that's all we can do."

Following an inquest, Coventry coroner Linda Lee sent her prevention of future deaths report, which lists several areas of concern, to the health secretary Wes Streeting and NHS England.

A WMAS spokesperson added: "We would again like to apologise to the family of Roman Barr and offer our condolences.

"The trust undertook an investigation into the incident, which learning was identified from. As a result we have implemented a number of changes both locally and nationally.

"We will continue to do all we can to try and stop something like this ever happening again."

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