Locals in the English town of Dorset rushed to help an injured 95-year-old woman who was left laying on the freezing sidewalk for hours after breaking her her hip, waiting for an ambulance after law enforcement told her she was not a priority.
"I can't tell you how upsetting it was, she actually said, 'I'm going to die here tonight,'" a bystander who worked nearby and helped Winifred Soanes throughout the day after she fell and broke her hip on Nov. 25.
Soanes's husband, Andrew, 92, "wouldn't leave her side" as multiple people throughout the day attempted to help and comfort the couple.
"The situation was dire, but it's great to know that when they need to, the community all pull together to help," Andrew told The Independent.
Hours later, Soanes was taken to a nearby hospital where she continues waiting for her operation.
"We are sorry that we were not able to provide a timely response to this patient. Any occasion where the care we provide falls below the high standards our patients deserve and rightly expect is unacceptable," a spokesperson for the South Western Ambulance said, per The Independent. "Handover delays at emergency departments remain one of our biggest challenges."
The spokesperson added that they continue working "to improve the service that patients receive."
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