A Powys man died in Cardiff after a six-minute wait for a defibrillator to be applied, an inquest has heard.

The hearing at Pontypridd Coroner's Court on Wednesday (October 9) heard that 45-year-old Gordon Smith from Machynlleth had suffered a medical episode while in the Welsh capital as part of his work for the Welsh Government's European funding team on March 7, 2019.

Assistant coroner Gaynor Kynaston heard there were delays in administering a defibrillator shock to Mr Smith, who was described in a witness statement by his sister Rachel as a “cheeky and bright” man “who had a huge impact on those around him”.

But after he suffered the incident, the hearing was told, responding paramedic Christine Bigmore used breathing apparatus that was not approved at the time by the Welsh Ambulance Service.

At the same time, cardiac monitoring equipment used to assess when a defibrillator can be safely applied was not turned on, meaning he went six minutes without being shocked.

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After this the team from the Wales Air Ambulance rapid response team arrived by emergency car.

Daniel Jenkins, a critical care practitioner with Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service, said when the team arrived they had to put in a new breathing apparatus after his check found that  “no air entry had been reported” and “no pulse had been recorded”.

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Mr Jenkins also claimed staff at the scene “were raising immediate concerns about ventilating the patient”.

Mr Smith was transferred to hospital a few minutes later, but was pronounced dead by the emergency team.

Ms Bigmore and her partner that day Andrew Ellis, giving evidence, said they had patchy memories of the incident because of the time since it occurred - Ms Bigmore was only questioned about it last year, four years after the event.

Ms Bigmore, who has now retired having served as a paramedic for 28 years, said the breathing apparatus method she had used was “the gold standard in her training”.

Mr Ellis told the court that since the incident different procedures have been implemented and that a “pitstop method” was now used which is a more organised form of emergency care.

The hearing continues on Thursday, October 10.