Grieving family of five-year-old Glenarm girl in petition to reform emergency response

Words by Eden Wilson, video report by Sharon O'Neill

The family of a five-year-old girl who died just before Christmas have launched a campaign to get fire crews to step in when paramedics are too far out.

Maggie Black from Glenarm in County Antrim died on 1 December 2021 after suddenly falling ill.

She had waited for more than an hour for an ambulance to arrive after she stopped breathing.

Her cousin and watch commander at Carnlough Fire Station, Martin Campbell, said he thought of Maggie every day.

"When you wake up in the morning until you go to bed at night, you can't help but think of Maggie and the events of what happened," he said.

"You wait on her just running in the door, wait on her coming round the corner...but unfortunately that's not the case."

Maggie's cousin, Martin Campbell is a local firefighter and he is calling for the service to be drafted in if paramedics are delayed. Credit: UTV

The school girl was at home with her parents when complaints of a tummy ache turned out to be life threatening.At around 6am, her mother Sheenagh noticed Maggie's breathing had become laboured.

Sheenagh called her sister-in-law and next door neighbour, Margaret, for help before swiftly calling for an ambulance.

Within minutes on the 999 call, Maggie had stopped breathing.

Cousin and firefighter, Martin, was called by the family for backup while Sheenagh performed CPR on little Maggie.

Rushing to the scene, he immediately dispatched his fire crew who are trained first aiders.

"It was frantic to get Maggie on the floor and for the mother to commence CPR and try and save her own child.

"I had quite a lot of moments with her and talking to her and trying to will her on."Despite all efforts, Maggie sadly passed away.

The family say they waited 80 minutes for an ambulance to arrive. The target time for a category one call is eight minutes.

In a statement to UTV, the ambulance service apologised for the delay to the family.

"The circumstances of this delay are currently under internal review by NIAS."

Maggie's family want her legacy to see the emergency response in the area reformed.

The family, keen not to turn Maggie's death into a blame game, but rather a chance to create positive change.

"There's two sides to it. Yes, the tragedy has happened and we can't go back, but you know what, we can maybe prevent this for another family," Martin told UTV.

"They're (Sheenagh and Brian) very brave doing what they're doing in such a short time after Maggie's passing. I really do think they want to leave a legacy with Maggie's Call and improve lives for generations to come."

The Department of Health said that while a number of community responder schemes are in place across Northern Ireland, there are currently none in the Glenarm area.

They added that the Ambulance Service and Fire Service "are currently working closely together to progress the development of a regional response model."

The family's petition named 'Maggie's Call' has received over 16,500 signatures and counting.

Her parents are now determined to ensure that no other family goes through what they have and that rural communities aren't left vulnerable in life threatening situations.