South Warwickshire woman’s six-hour wait for ambulance after fall at home
HANDOVER delays at hospital left an 82-year-old woman waiting six hours for an ambulance to arrive at her home after she suffered a fall.
While she was distressed by the incident, the woman from Alderminster, who did not wish to be identified, was uninjured and was supported by her friend, Mark Wydall, who happened to be visiting when the fall took place.
It’s the second such incident in the district in the space of a few weeks. The Herald reported on 22nd September that a 90-year-old man in Lower Quinton waited seven hours for an ambulance after suffering a fall.
Mr Wydall said the latest delay showed the pressure ambulance crews were working under.
“I just managed to catch her as she fell,” he said. “There were no injuries that I could see but she was in pain. I got blankets and cushions as she lay on the floor and was struggling to make her comfortable. I phoned for an ambulance at 11pm and one finally arrived at 5.15am the following day.
“I’ve known my friend for many years and she has fallen several times and has been kept in Warwick Hospital for a few days.”
While he is grateful his friend is recovering, Mr Wydall was concerned to learn about the frustration ambulance crews had experienced trying to respond to the call. He said they told him the problem was caused by delays off-loading patients at hospital.
“The ambulance crew and the hospital were absolutely fantastic,” Mr Wydall said. “They were professional throughout and apologised for the long delay and said the reason they were waiting so long was to off-load a patient at Warwick. You could sense their frustration about not getting to us sooner.
“For me this is all about cutting back on hospital beds. It affects the structures and timings of the whole ambulance service, and it works against the professionalism of the drivers and the NHS is hampered by it as well.”
This week West Midlands Ambulance Service apologised for the delay. A spokesperson told the Herald it had received a call at 22.40pm on Wednesday, 5th October reporting the patient had fallen and was uninjured, which was categorised as a C3 call, the third highest priority.
A further three calls were received before an ambulance arrived at 5.30am on 6th October and the patient was taken to Warwick Hospital.
The spokesperson added: “We would like to apologise to the patient for the delayed response. The ambulance service relies on each part of the health and social care system working together so that our ambulances can get to patients in the community quickly. Sadly, the pressures we are seeing in health and social care lead to long hospital handover delays with our crews left caring for patients that need admitting to hospital rather than responding to the next call. The result is that our crews are delayed reaching patients.
“We are working incredibly hard with all of our NHS and social care partners to prevent these delays, looking at new ways to safely hand over patients quickly so that our crews can respond more rapidly and save more lives.”
