"Waiting for ambulance transport for too long"

On 7th October I was in the outpatient waiting area at my place of work at the Becklin Centre in Leeds.

I noticed a lady in some discomfort and asked if I could help. She explained that she had just had spinal surgery and she had been to see a doctor in one of our psychiatric clinics, she had finished her appointment at 2.30pm, it was now 4.15pm and she was still waiting for YAS transport to take her home.

The ambulance finally arrived at 4.45pm, the driver explained he had only been given the instruction to pick her up at 4.35 - this is clearly unacceptable.

I made sure that this lady was ok and supplied her with tea whilst she was waiting. I felt that I should not leave her as she was in so much pain, needed support and could have quite easily have become distressed at any point.

I also offered to get a taxi for her but she needed the services of an ambulance with a wheelchair due to her surgery and her mobility issues, so this was not an option. We contacted the transport line twice and all we were told was that there was someone on their way.

This is a worry especially since this lady could not sit for very long and the situation could have become more serious if the lady was unable to manage her pain or needed other medical help.