Two-hour wait for ambulance after 10-year-old hit by a car
A 10-YEAR-OLD boy waited for two hours for an ambulance after being hit by a car in Bridgend.
Samuel Ball was on his way home from school on Friday afternoon when the accident happened on Channel View, Brackla.
People were on the scene swiftly to help, including Samuel’s uncle, Andy Frankham.
“I was on the phone actually, and I heard this noise and the scream,” he explained.
He went out to check what had happened and someone asked him to fetch a towel.
It was only when he returned that he realised it was his nephew who had been hit.
Due to the nature of Samuel’s injuries, he couldn’t be moved. However, a paediatric nurse and a falls response worker were both in the area and were able to help while they waited for the paramedics.
“They were on the phone and they said [it] could be up to seven hours waiting, which isn’t their fault, but that’s the problem,” Mr Frankham explained.
Police arrived to cordon off the road and both an ambulance and the Wales Air Ambulance attended the scene around two hours later.
From there, Samuel was taken to University Hospital Wales.
Samuel, who turns 11 next weekend, will likely be off his feet for a while as his uncle said his right leg has two breaks, which he described as “pretty severe”.
“He’s okay in himself at the moment, and the NHS has just done the best they can since then and my sister said they’ve done brilliant under the circumstances, kudos to them all things considered,” he added.
A Welsh Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We attended a call in the Bridgend area on Friday afternoon following reports of an incident involving a child and a vehicle. We were supported at scene by the air ambulance and the patient was taken to the University Hospital of Wales.”
They added: “We are very sorry that there was a delay in attending this call. We completely understand how worrying and distressing it must have been for the patient and their family.
“We would like to work with the family to explore the circumstances surrounding the delay and will be reaching out as soon as possible to do this.”