Breaking point for paramedics

A frail pensioner huddled in agony under blankets in the pouring rain outside his home with a broken ankle for more than three hours in a frantic morning that stretched the city’s emergency services to breaking point.

Ambulance crews were called out to 21 separate

incidents of residents falling in a manic threehour period early yesterday morning as freezing overnight temperatures caused a huge surge in fall injuries.

Michael Wilczynski, 71, suffered multiple leg injuries after slipping on ice as he left his home in Carrick Knowe at about 9:30am.

However Mr Wilczynski spent almost three and a half hours on the pavement desperately waiting for ambulance crews after family members were advised not to move the retired civil servant.

A Scottish Ambulance Service spokeswoman said :“the service was experiencing an exceptionally high, out of the ordinary, level of demand in Edinburgh and across Scotland on Thursday, December 14 and we would like to apologise to the patient for the lengthy delay.

“All 999 calls are prioritised to ensure the sickest and most seriously injured patients, including those with immediately life-threatening conditions, are given the highest priority.

“We would ask members of the public to take care when out in icy conditions and only call 999 in genuine emergencies.”