‘The 17-hour wait was the most terrible ordeal for a woman of 98’

LAST December my 77-year-old wife Jan fell ill with a nasty urinary tract infection. The infection was so bad that she became more and more confused and started drifting in and out of consciousness.

We called the GP, who said she needed to go to hospital immediately, and that we should call 999. I did so at about 9pm. I would have taken her myself, but I couldn't fit her wheelchair in the car, so we waited.

At 7am, I rang my son, who has a hatchback, and he took us to hospital, where she stayed for six weeks. When I arrived home at 4pm that day, I was told by my neighbours that the ambulance finally arrived at 3.15pm - more than 18 hours after we'd rung.

Mike Yeats, Cheshire

EARLIER this month my family and I raced to my 98-year-old mother-in-law’s in Essex after she had a fall. We called the ambulance at 3pm but it only arrived 17 hours later at 8am the next day. We sat with her through the night, and in the final few hours she began to deteriorate, becoming cold and uncommunicative. She couldn’t get to the toilet and had the indignity of soiling her bed, where we’d put her. She’s now recovering in hospital with a UTI and dehydration, but it has been the most terrible ordeal for such an elderly woman. Anonymous, Essex

AFTER falling over at home at lam, I broke my hip and lay on the floor bleeding from my elbow for three hours before an ambulance turned up. After that experience, I was reluctant to dial 999 again. But I had to when my wife, Jill, suffered a second Covid infection. She was bleeding more and more from her nose, but they said it wasn't life-threatening and suggested I call 111. A little later, someone from 111 rang me again, said it sounded serious, asked me to take some readings, then said they would send an ambulance. It took an hour to come. Sadly my wife deteriorated and came home to die a couple of weeks later. The system is totally broken.

Anonymous, Wiltshire

I WENT in to hospital earlier this year to have two groin hernias dealt with. It was only a day procedure, but when I got home around mid-afternoon, I found I couldn't urinate. The pain was incredible.

Eventually, at about 9pm, my wife rang for an ambulance. They called back an hour later to say there would be a 12-hour wait. Fortunately, my wife was able to drive me to hospital, but I was groaning in pain all the way and could feel every pothole.

At the age of 69 and after 22 years in the RAF I know the value of public service. This was not the treatment I was expecting in my hour of need.

Alan Kinninnwniti, Cambridge

LAST December, my friend Iain collapsed in our front room. He had tripped over some steps outside our house and thought he may have dislocated his shoulder. Then, not long after I'd sat him down on the sofa, his pulse completely disappeared I'm a trained nurse and was able to perform CPR, while my husband dialled 999. But when we got through, we were told to expect a three-hour wait for an ambulance.

Eventually, Iain came round. When the ambulance arrived, they took his pulse and said his shoulder was fine.

The next morning, my husband drove thin to the hospital where they found he had broken his shoulder. I have worked in casualty and know the pressure staff are under, but the system needs to improve.

Anonymous, Portsmouth

WHEN I fell over on the kitchen floor two years ago, my husband phoned for an ambulance and was told not to move me. We were both worried because I had a searing pain in my shoulder.

But when he asked how long it would be for an ambulance, the operator said it would take four hours. Eventually, my daughter left work early and drove me to A&E with a towel wrapped around my arm in a makeshift cast. After a few scans, they found I had broken the cuff off my shoulder. I still cope with the pain on a daily basis.

Gene Walker, Salford