A 66-year-old man died of a collapsed lung after a hospital was too busy to give him the x-ray that could have caught it sooner.

Michael Wysockyj had been taken by ambulance to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, in King's Lynn, after falling ill at home.

But the hospital was not able to admit him for four hours and by the time be was finally taken onto a ward, no x-ray was taken and he died hours later.

His death has led Norfolk coroner Jacqueline Lake to publish a 'prevention of future deaths' report to ensure lessons can be learnt and similar cases prevented.

In it, she called for the hospital to make changes to how x-rays are managed during busy times.

She outlined her concerns that x-rays can not be carried out in ambulances, meaning when patients have long waits the process is delayed.

She also said she had said that during busy times the need for a patient to get an x-ray may not be communicated between departments, meaning it can be missed.

Leaders at the hospital say that strides have been made, since Mr Wysockyj's death, to address these concerns.

He was taken to the hospital at around 6.30pm on September 20 last year, but the paramedics found the emergency department was so busy he had to be assessed in the back of the ambulance.

By the time he was admitted, at 10.20pm, he grew increasingly restless and agitated and this, combined with the delays in admitting him, meant a chest x-ray was not carried out on him.

At around 2am the next morning he was put into critical care due to low oxygen levels and at 3.55am, it was discovered he had suffered a collapsed lung and shortly afterwards he went into cardiac arrest.

Despite attempts to resuscitate him, he died at 4.42am.

Eastern Daily Press: Senior coroner Jacqueline Lake. Photo: Bill SmithSenior coroner Jacqueline Lake. Photo: Bill Smith (Image: Archant © 2014)

Louise Notley, director of patient safety at the hospital, said: “On behalf of the Trust we extend our sincere condolences to the family of Mr Wysockyj and apologise profusely for the shortcomings in our care.

“We have since reviewed our processes for patients arriving by ambulance during busy periods and we have implemented a number of changes to ensure the safety of future patients, including the introduction of an ambulance co-ordinator role to ensure patients waiting in ambulances are regularly assessed and timely initial investigations such as x-rays and diagnostic tests."