Veteran left ‘crying in pain’ in 13-hour ambulance wait
A 77-YEAR-OLD veteran was forced to wait 13 hours for an ambulance, and was left “crying” in pain following a fall at home.
Harry Barlow was in need of urgent assistance on Monday morning after he fell in his bedroom.
His wife Carol, 75, said he was in horrendous pain after his leg turned blue following the tumble.
The couple, from Pencoed, near Bridgend, were worried he had broken something, and were more concerned for his well-being due to the fact that he takes a very strong blood thinner called Rivaroxaban, which means he could be at risk of internal bleeding.
Carol said she called 999 at 11.32am on Monday but the ambulance did not arrive until 12.30am on Tuesday.
She said: “He waited 13 hours. They were really busy they said.
“I didn’t know what he had done, but he couldn’t move.
“He sat on a stool for seven hours. His leg had turned blue, and I couldn’t move him.
“My granddaughter is a nurse so I sent her a picture of his leg, and the doctor was there with her.
“He said, ‘go home to your grandfather and get that leg elevated – I will take care of your patient’.
“Her and her partner managed to move him. We managed to get him sat on the bed.
“He was in so much pain and there was nothing we could do.
“He was crying. He was saying ‘I need help’.”
Carol said she called the ambulance service around three times throughout the day asking where they were.
She said she was told they said they were really busy and that someone would be with them as soon as they could but, as time went on, her husband continued to cry and the painkillers weren’t touching the pain.
The Welsh Ambulance Service has said it was experiencing “very high” demand for services across Bridgend and the wider area.
Harry, who previously served 30 years in the Army, was eventually told he had sustained damage to his coccyx as well as some wear and tear to his hip.
Luckily, nothing was broken, and he said the staff at Royal Glamorgan Hospital, near Llantrisant, saw him as soon as he arrived and were really good with him, stressing it was the lengthy wait to get there that caused an issue.
Harry said: “The pain – I have never experienced anything like it.
“It was worrying. I’m on a blood thinner. You have to be seen straight away in case you have internal bleeding. Thirteen hours was just ridiculous.
“I feel for anyone who had to wait for 13 hours in that amount of pain.”
Speaking about the pressures on the ambulance service in the run-up to Christmas, he replied: “I think it will get even worse than it is now.”
Carol added: “There are a lot of people on their own who will be waiting that amount of time.
“He was lucky he had me here and I have my brother up the road, but even he couldn’t lift him.
“He was screaming so we just had to leave him there.”
When asked about the incident, Sonia Thompson, Assistant Director of Operations (Emergency Medical Services) for the Welsh Ambulance Service, said: “We are very sorry to hear of the delay in attending Mr Barlow following his fall.
“At the time of the incident we were experiencing very high demand for our services across Bridgend and the wider area, we were also facing delays in handing over patients to emergency departments at general hospitals.
“We remained in touch with the family during this period, performing welfare checks via telephone to ensure Mr Barlow’s condition did not deteriorate and sent our first available resource.
“We wish Mr Barlow all the best for a full recovery and would welcome contact should the family wish to explore our response further.”