Man dies after ambulance service tells him to make his own way to hospital

Catherine HuttonOpen Justice reporter - Wellington·NZ Herald·4 Aug, 2026 05:00 PM6 mins to read‌Coroner finds man's death was not a case where the Wellington Free Ambulance simply failed to dispatch an ambulance. Photo / FileAs Geoffrey Hartley lay on a shop floor complaining of severe chest pain, an ambulance clinical adviser told him to make his own way to hospital.Hours later, the 79-year-old was dead.

When Hartley collapsed in the Wellington store, a shop assistant called 111 and reported he was lying on