This is Care Opinion [siteRegion]. Did you want Care Opinion [usersRegionBasedOnIP]?
Care Opinion

Long wait for an ambulance while in severe pain

Posted By raglan

"Long wait for an ambulance while in severe pain"

About: South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust / Emergency ambulance

(as a relative),

My wife fell in the kitchen at approx. 2045 one day in December. She appeared to be in severe pain. I immediately called for an ambulance. I was told they were very busy but one would come as soon as possible. During the night I phoned three times and my daughter phoned twice. Eventually at 0430 the following day. the ambulance arrived. Half an hour later my wife was transferred to Poole Hospital, in an ambulance that rattled all the way.

In my opinion, there is no excuse for the length of time my wife who was in severe pain to be left for seven and a half hours.

More about:
Do you have a similar story to tell? Tell your story & make a difference ››

Responses

Response from Sharifa Hashem, Patient Engagement Manager, South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust 7 years ago
Sharifa Hashem
Patient Engagement Manager,
South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust

Submitted on 24/01/2017 at 09:38
Published on Care Opinion at 13:16

Dear Raglan,

Thank you for taking the time to provide our service with feedback. I hope your wife is feeling better.

I am sorry there was a delay in an ambulance reaching your wife. Our service has been experiencing a significant demand on our resources recently and this has stretched all our resources.

The detail you have provided here has been anonymised so I am unable to locate the details of the 999 calls you have made, so I cannot directly comment on the event.

However, we would welcome the opportunity to look into the care provided to you and your wife; if you would like us to do this may I ask you to contact our Patient Experience Team on either swast.patientexperience@nhs.uk or 01392 261 585 and a member of the team will be able to provide information on the next steps.

Thank you, again, for taking the time to share your story with us.

Sharifa

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful

Update posted by raglan (a relative)

I appreciate how busy the ambulance service was on that particular day. But no account of my wife's age or medical condition seem to have been taken on board. She is in her eighties suffers with severe COPD, OSTEOPOROSIS and OSTEOARTHRITIS.

Surely one paramedic could have come out in a CAR?

Response from Sharifa Hashem, Patient Engagement Manager, South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust 7 years ago
Sharifa Hashem
Patient Engagement Manager,
South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust

Submitted on 25/01/2017 at 09:10
Published on Care Opinion at 09:19

I'm afraid I can't directly comment on this incident as the details have been anonymised, if you'd like us to look into this further please do contact our Patient Experience Team on either swast.patientexperience@nhs.uk or 01392 261 585 and a member of the team will be able to help you further.

Thank you once again for being in contact, we appreciate all the feedback we receive.

All the best,

Sharifa

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful
Opinions
Next Response j
Previous Response k