Mother died after lying on pavement for 6 hours waiting for ambulance
LYING on a freezing pavement, a mother who’d hurt her foot waits almost six hours for an ambulance.
Donna Gilby, a mother-of-one, died the next day in hospital.
Yesterday, her father, Gareth, 74, released this image of her wrapped in a duvet on a damp path as she waited for paramedics.
Miss Gilby, 47, who had an 11year- old daughter, had slipped and fractured her foot while on her way to see her doctor.
Friends and neighbours called 999 for Miss Gilby, who suffered from an irregular heartbeat and had previously had two ministrokes, telling them she was slipping in and out of consciousness.
Her loved- ones rallied round, providing blankets and duvets to keep her warm as the temperature dropped in Cwmaman, near Aberdare, South Wales.
The first call to the Welsh Ambulance Service was made at before 8.30am on Tuesday, but paramedics did not arrive until just before 2pm. Miss Gilby was taken to Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil but died on Wednesday morning from a cardiac arrest.
Mr Gilby, a retired factory worker, said the ambulance service warned it was busy when they called, adding: ‘The call handler told us they were dealing with a heavy influx of calls and they’d be with her as soon as possible.
‘When there was still no sign an hour later we called again. We were told they didn’t know when they would get to her. We still can’t really believe it. She always put others before herself.’
Last night, Miss Gilby’s family claimed they were advised not to move her or take her to hospital themselves. They said health problems, including battles with her weight, made it hard to move her without professional help.
Miss Gilby’s nephew James Perkins, a 28-year- old builder, said the news was particularly devastating for her daughter, adding: ‘Every Christmas is going to be a reminder of her losing her mum.’
Jason Killens, chief executive the ambulance service – part of NHS Wales, which is managed by the Labour-run Welsh government, apologised for the long wait, adding: ‘We were deeply saddened to hear about the death of Miss Gilby. An increase in high-priority calls and hospital hand over delays in particular are impacting on our ability to respond to 999 calls.’