Socialized Medicine Nightmare: Family’s horror as 89-year-old injured falling out of his wheelchair queues outside hospital in ambulance for EIGHT hours
An 89-year-old man was told he had to wait 21 hours on the floor for an ambulance after he fell from his wheelchair and cut open his head.
Roy Clare, 89, from Southend -on-Sea, Essex rang for an ambulance on Tuesday after the accident at his home.
Instead of racing directly to his home, call handlers told Mr Clare to remain on he floor for the ambulance to arrive.
The following day, Mr Clare’s condition had deteriorated so his family called 111 for advice who recommended calling him a doctor.
When his condition deteriorated further and his breathing became laboured, the doctor arrived on Wednesday evening.
The doctor, when considering Mr Clare’s previous history of strokes, recommended that he should be admitted to hospital for tests and observation.
On Thursday, the family were told there were no ambulances available, but at 2pm three arrived at the same time by mistake.
He was taken to Southend Hospital but with 22 ambulances ahead of him, he was forced to wait in the back for a further 8 hours until he was finally admitted to a ward.
Mrs Ward told ITV News: ‘We sent him into a situation where it was even worse.
‘Why is there such a bad situation at the hospital?’
A spokesperson for Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, said:
‘Our hospitals are experiencing an extremely high demand for their services, with many arriving at A&E by ambulance, reflecting just how busy local NHS and social care providers are.
‘We are all working together to respond to this higher demand for services, so that we can provide the best possible care for our patients.’
Roy Clare’s 48-hour wait to get to hospital
TUESDAY EVENING: Roy Clare, 89, falls from his wheelchair and is told theer are no ambulances available for 21 hours.
WEDNESDAY MORNING: Family calls 111 and call handler advises them to see a doctor
WEDNESDAY EVENING: Doctor arrives and due to Mr Clare’s history of strokes, he should be admitted to hospital
THURSDAY MORNING: Family told there are still no ambulances
2PM: Three ambulances arrive at his home by mistake
10:15PM: Mr Clare is admitted to A&E