Inquiry after pensioners left to wait hours for ambulances
Western Mail
AN INVESTIGATION has been launched after two elderly patients were forced to wait hours in pain for emergency ambulances.
In the first incident, 79-year-old grandfather Fred Harvey waited almost two-and-a-half hours after suffering a suspected head injury.
And great-grandmother-of-two Hilda Davis spent three hours lying on the floor with a broken hip waiting for an emergency ambulance to arrive.
Both were admitted to the University Hospital of Wales, in Cardiff, where Mrs Davis was last night undergoing surgery.
The two cases reveal that the under-fire Welsh Ambulance Service is still struggling to cope with demand, despite a recent improvement in its overall response times.
It is understood that the ambulance service was “very busy” when Mr Harvey and Mrs Davis called for emergency help on Saturday and Tuesday, respectively.
Mr Harvey, who lives in Whitchurch, Cardiff, fell during a family event on Saturday afternoon, suffering head and facial injuries which bled extensively.
Fortunately, a male nurse was able to help as the family waited almost two-and-a-half hours for the ambulance to arrive.
Mr Harvey’s daughter Sue, 49, said: “We can’t just brush this matter under the carpet – it could have been really serious.
“We felt that calling an ambulance was the best thing to do – I now wish I’d taken him to hospital myself.”
Mrs Davis fell at her sheltered accommodation home in Penarth, in the Vale of Glamorgan, on Tuesday afternoon, fracturing her hip.
But, despite the warden of the complex calling 999 four times throughout the afternoon, paramedics did not arrive for three hours.
Her son Mark, 50, a chiropodist, said: “When you see your mother lying in pain, you do get very frustrated. This is no kind of service.
“This service is just not good enough – not only for my mother but for everyone else.”
The Welsh Ambulance Service’s performance has been improving steadily after it reached rock bottom in December.
The latest figures reveal that it achieved the all-Wales target of responding to 65% of life-or-death emergency 999 calls within eight minutes in March. But in the busy South East Wales region, just 59.2% of calls were reached within eight minutes.
Health Minister Edwina Hart has ordered the ambulance service to improve its performance in a number of areas in Wales, including the Vale of Glamorgan.
Chris Franks, Plaid Cymru AM for South Wales Central, said: “Once again we have more horror stories about the ambulance service.
“It is just not good enough to say that there are improvements. Things are clearly not changing quickly enough.
“It is extremely distressing that all patients are not receiving a service they deserve.
“I know things are improving but we need the ambulance trust and the hospitals to make even greater efforts.
“Health Minister Edwina Hart has reported there has been a sustained improvement in the timely handover of patients in Cardiff but more has to be done.”
A spokesman for the Welsh Ambulance Service said investigations are under way into both Mr Harvey’s and Mrs Davis’ cases.
He added: “While we cannot comment on individual cases, we would like to apologise for any distress caused by the delayed response.
“If the patient or family wish to contact us directly, we will be happy to discuss the case with them.”
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