Veteran waits 13 hours in agony for ambulance
A77-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 Barlow, 75, said he was in horrendous pain after his leg turned blue following the fall.
The couple, from Pencoed, 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, November 22, but the ambulance didn’t arrive until 12.30am yesterday.
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 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.
Nothing was broken, and he said the staff at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital 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 straightaway in case you have internal bleeding. 13 hours was just ridiculous. I feel for anyone who had to wait for 13 hours in that amount of pain.”
Sonia Thompson, assistant director of operations (Emergency Medical Services) for the Welsh Ambulance Service said: “We are very sorry to hear of the delay.
“At the time of the incident we were experiencing very high demand for our services.
“We remained in touch with the family during this period.”