man suffering from multiple stab wounds, an official investigation has found.

Government has ordered a review of the 911 emergency medical response system after the inquiry found there may be "operational and structural problems''.

Home Affairs Minister Paula Cox ordered the inquiry into the running of the 911 service following calls from the family of stabbing victim Dean Young.

During a Supreme Court trial last month, several witnesses, including Mr.

Young's killer Randy Burgess, said they called 911 last October requesting an ambulance.

However, it was stated during the case that there was some kind of "mix up'' in the request for an ambulance getting through to the hospital, which resulted in an alleged delay in the arrival of a medical team.

As a result of the preliminary findings, Ms Cox and Health and Families Services Minister Nelson Bascome have ordered a review of the emergency medical response system.

A joint statement last night from both ministries said: "The preliminary report indicates that there was a gap in the region of 20 minutes between the first call for assistance being received and the arrival of the ambulance.

"Although this time lag is not as long as some claims have put it, there are clearly further questions to be asked.

"Investigations have suggested that there may be operational and structural problems inhibiting the best possible delivery of emergency care services.'' Ms. Cox said: "I believe it is timely to do this after a year of operating the current emergency response procedures to establish what is working well and what needs further attention.

"It would be totally inappropriate to paint this picture as a crisis. All statistics show that responses have been markedly improved since the current system was installed last year.

"We intend to determine whether the public is receiving the best possible service that we can deliver and if not, how we can continue to improve emergency medical care even further.'' Mr. Young, 31, received 23 stab wounds last October after being attacked with a kitchen knife in the early hours by his love rival Randy Burgess. He was pronounced dead by doctors on arrival at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital due to severe blood loss.

Hospital bosses claimed they received only one request for an ambulance from the 911 call centre and said a vehicle was dispatched one minute later.

But Mr. Young's mother and father, Carolyn and Randy, called for an official inquiry to be carried out to reveal what time the calls were made and why it took so long to get an ambulance to their son.

At first it was alleged that the delay between the first 911 call being made and the arrival of an ambulance amounted to about 40 minutes.

Mr. Young's father Randy said: "We should not blame the hospital. They did not kill my son, Randy Burgess did it.

"If they got there late, sure let's have an inquiry, but the hospital do an excellent job and we have got to stop blaming them.'' Shadow Health Minister Kim Young, who called for a full inquiry into Mr.

Young's case and the whole 911 system, said she welcomed the news, but hoped it would be completed within days, rather than weeks.

Emergency response She said: "I think it's excellent that they are looking into the whole system. Of course it has to be improved if there is a gap of any time.

"A wait of 15 to 20 minutes can mean the difference between life and death to some people.

"I hope they come up with the answers very quickly. It has to be completed in days. The longer it takes to complete, the more chance there is of another delay.'' HOSPITAL HOS