Changes have been made to the way ambulances respond to mental health issues following the death of a man who was restrained by police for more than an hour.
Krystian Kilkowski died in hospital on his 32nd birthday, hours after being held to the ground by police having been detained under the Mental Health Act.
An inquest into his death identified "failures" on the part of the emergency services relating to the way he was restrained by officers, communication between the constabulary and ambulance services, and delays he faced in receiving medical attention.
The incident prompted the East of England Ambulance Service Trust to conduct a serious incident review, after which changes were made to how they prioritise mental health calls.
As a result, any person that is detained under the Mental Health Act and under physical restraint will be automatically treated as a 'category one' call - the highest priority job for ambulance crews.
In Mr Kilkowski's case, he was initially treated as a category two call, which delayed the time it took an ambulance crew to arrive and prolonged his restraint.
As a result of the case, the trust has also upgraded the priority of anybody suffering with suspected acute behavioural disorder- which Mr Kilkowski was experiencing.
A spokesman for EEAST said: “The East of England Ambulance Service offers its deepest condolences to Krystian Kilkowski's family and offers our sincere apologies for the errors identified.
"The Trust is taking steps to improve the way we recognise and care for patients at risk of acute behavioural disorder (ABD).
"This includes making sure that potential ABD patients are provided with a priority response.”
Meanwhile, a representative for Mr Kilkowski's family has criticised comments made by Norfolk Constabulary's deputy chief executive Simon Megicks after the hearing, in which he defended his officers, saying they had "made every effort to get Mr Kilkowski the help he needed".
Eva Roszykiewicz, solicitor at Bhatt Murphy, said: The response following the inquest is indicative of a problematic policing culture and refusal to learn from preventable deaths.
"An extremely concerned and diligent jury found that there was a serious failure of the officers to keep Krystian safe in direct conflict with their policing and training.
"Rather than engaging with the jury's detailed findings, it appears DCC Megicks is more concerned with trying to shift the blame away from his officers."
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