‘Lessons will be properly learnt after Harry Dunn death’ - Government departments respond to prevention of future death reports

Anne Pember, senior coroner for Northamptonshire, penned the initial prevention of future deaths reports following the inquest into Harry Dunn’s death, held in June this year. The reports covered driver training provision, ambulance wait times and the lack of availability of certain “potentially life saving” medicines to paramedics.

19-year-old motorcyclist Harry Dunn died after he was in collision with an American driver who was driving on the wrong side of the road close to RAF Croughton.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office have issued a joint response. The Department for Health and Social Care has responded separately.

In the published response, the MOD and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said they are “committed to ensuring lessons are properly learnt”.

The response said: “The government has sought and received further assurances from the US authorities in the UK, both military and diplomatic, that driver training mandated for US Visiting Forces and diplomats, as well as their dependants, includes and will continue to include a focus on driving on the left, and the dangers of not doing so.”

The departments go on to say they are meeting with representatives of US Visiting Forces and the US Embassy next month to continue work on the issue of “driver training and road safety awareness”.

According to the response, diplomatic missions in the UK have also been sent a letter reminding them of their responsibilities in respect of road safety awareness and driving standards in the UK.

The response added: “Finally, ministers are considering what other actions, in addition to the actions taken over the last five years, might be required to ensure lessons have been learnt.”

Karin Smyth, the minister responsible for urgent and emergency care, penned the response from the Department for Health and Social Care.

The minister said: “The NHS has been broken and it will take time to fix. However, we are determined to do so and have committed to returning urgent and emergency care waiting times to the safe operational waiting time standards set out in the NHS constitution.”

The response continues that for category two incidents this would mean 18 minutes compared with current NHS performance (July 2024) of 33 minutes 25 seconds.

Ms Smyth added that a “full and independent investigation into NHS performance”, which will “feed into the government's work on a 10-year plan to radically reform the NHS and build a health service that is fit for the future”, has been ordered.

In the shorter-term, the response adds that a range of action is being taken, including “maintaining the increase in ambulance capacity”.

In terms of the availability of certain “potentially life saving” medicines for paramedics, the response says as of the end of last year, paramedic independent prescribers who are registered with the Health and Care Professions Council can prescribe five additional prescribed drugs.

The response added: “Please be assured that we will take account of your concerns when agreeing the next steps in our joint work programme with NHSE regarding expanding supply, administration and prescribing of medicines responsibilities for regulated healthcare professionals.”

Read the full responses here.