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Residents are devastated police took 19 hours to respond to concerns about their 85-year-old neighbour, who later died in the bathroom of his Sydney home.

Fred Lucas grew concerned for his neighbour, Sid, who he hadn't seen in a few days.

He called police to check on his friend at his William Street unit in Bankstown about 5.40pm on July 4 last week but officers didn't arrive until 12.30pm the following day.

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"I knocked on the door a few times and nothing happened so I rang the police and they said they were busy," Lucas told 9News.

"I just had to wait."

When police finally arrived and forced entry into the home, Sid was lying on the bathroom floor struggling to breathe.

Emergency services conducted CPR but he couldn't be saved and died at the scene. 

"The police response was very slow. It should have been quicker, had they come quicker, they might have been able to save his life," neighbour Christopher Payet said.

"I got very upset when he passed away because he was a good man," another neighbour, Hannah, said.

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NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Brett McFadden earlier today declared the 85-year-old's death a "critical incident" and ordered an investigation.

"My concern was the circumstances and the delay," he said.

"We'll own this sort of situation, we'll own our response.

"If there's things that we need to be doing, we'll certainly be addressing it."

The Critical Incident Investigation Team will probe why it took officers from the neighbouring Cumberland Police Area Command 19 hours to respond to the call.

McFadden earlier noted Bankstown was "one of the busiest commands in the state".

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But 9News understands the command was adequately staffed at the time.

"Looking at the workload and the priorities that were considered at that time, on the information that was available, it is now a direct report from the investigation to me," McFadden said.

The investigation will be subject to an independent review by the Professional Standards Command and overseen by the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission.

A report will also be prepared for the information of the coroner.

"We want the public to have confidence that when they call triple zero, the police will come," Acting Police Minister Tara Moriarty said. 

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