alleged 40 minute delay between 911 calls being made and an ambulance being dispatched to a dying man.

The trial of Randy Burgess, who was yesterday convicted of the manslaughter of Dean Antoine Young, heard several witnesses say they made 911 calls from 2.30 a.m. onwards on October 9 last year.

But according to taped records at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, the first call made to the hospital was at 3.09 a.m. and an ambulance was dispatched a minute later.

All 911 calls for medical and fire assistance are routed to a central dispatcher at Fire Service Control who then orders an ambulance from the Hospital or nearest emergency service throughout the Island.

Mrs. Young said it was "alarming'' if calls were made in this instance which were lost or did not get through to the Hospital.

Backing calls from Mr. Young's mother, Carolyn, for an inquiry into the delay, the United Bermuda Party MP said it was important the facts were made clear so that the public does not mistakenly blame the Hospital or ambulance service.

The Hospital's Director of Emergency Services Edward Schultz said in yesterday's Royal Gazette that he would welcome an inquiry into the circumstances.

Mrs. Young said: "It's quite alarming if it was so that somewhere along the line calls were missed. If that is the case then that is a huge gap in time in a life or death situation.

"Dr. Shultz has said he would welcome an inquiry into why there was a delay in the Hospital receiving the call.

"The ambulance dispatches are usually very prompt and very good, and if something happened along those lines (calls not getting through to the hospital) then we should really look at this because we can't afford for this to happen.

"The family are grieving and whether a delay in the ambulance led to the death or not, if the perception is out there in the community it is horrendous.

"People often don't understand the system and the perception could be in the community that the ambulance or the Hospital is at fault, so it is very important to have an inquiry.'' Mr. Young was stabbed 23 times in a fight with Burgess and collapsed in Border Lane, Pembroke. He was found to be dead on arrival at the Hospital.

Kim Young