Gran, 94, ‘could have died’ in eight-hour wait for ambulance
A GRANDMOTHER aged 94 was forced to wait eight hours for an ambulance with her foot “hanging off” after a fall.
Eileen Pool broke a bone in her foot after slipping over at home while getting undressed.
Her son Godfrey, 64, dialled 999 for paramedics at about 7.30pm on July 4. But they did not arrive until 3.30am the next day.
Operators told Mr Pool that due to the high volume of calls, she was being treated as low priority.
Shock
But Mrs Pool’s family claim that given her age, the foot injury could have proved fatal.
Son Godfrey said: “It was too long a wait for a 94-year-old. At that age, the shock could’ve killed her.
“I started off holding her foot in place and then managed to keep it in a neutral position using pillows, otherwise it was just wobbling around – you could hear the bones rattling.
“The advice from 999 was to put the leg in a splint and to give her paracetamol or something stronger, which I didn’t have. Fortunately my mum was fairly relaxed but it was a terribly painful and stressful wait.”
Mr Pool, a sports injury specialist, had the knowledge to act quickly after finding his mother on the floor at the home they share in Colchester, Essex.
He said: “Due to training I had with the Football Association, I knew how to feel for the pedis pulse in the foot to check that the blood supply hadn’t been cut off and how to reduce the fracture. It’s classic sports injury.”
Mrs Pool will now stay at Colchester General Hospital until doctors are confident her foot is on the mend.
More than 300 serious or life-threatening emergency calls were made in Essex on that day, putting huge pressure on ambulance crews.
An ambulance service spokesman apologised to the family for distress caused.
He added: “While we strive to provide an excellent service to our patients, on this occasion we haven’t met the high standards set and expected by ourselves and the patients we help.
“Our crews and staff are facing pressures.
“It follows that patient numbers and demand impact on our ability to respond as quickly as people expect to people who aren’t in a serious or life-threatening condition.
“We urge the family to contact us if they wish this to be investigated further.” control room considerable