Cancer patient’s 8-hour ordeal
A PENSIONER with terminal lung cancer was left ‘screaming in agony’ after waiting eight hours for an ambulance when she broke her hip in a fall.
Susan Key, 70, was in the shower room of the home she shares with her husband Roger in Ipswich, Suffolk, when she lost her footing on February 1.
An ambulance was called at 10.32am but it was not until 6.30pm that one arrived.
Mrs Key’s experience was made worse because she had not taken her medication for her multiple sclerosis.
It took seven calls – including one from her GP and one from her son saying she was having chest pains – before the priority of her case was upgraded and East of England Ambulance Service sent a crew.
The service, rated the UK’s worst for lifethreatening category one responses in August last year, said: ‘We were extremely busy on February 1 and it is necessary to prioritise patients with life-threatening injuries and illnesses. We have received a complaint so it would be inappropriate to comment further.’