A 79-year-old woman was strapped to a bin lid and driven to A&E in a van after she broke her hip due to ambulance delays. The family of Pamela Rolfe claim they were told that no ambulances were available as her injuries were "not life-threatening," but they claim she would have died had they not taken matters into their own hands.
Dawn Hamilton, Ms Rolfe's daughter, claims they were forced to strap her to a grit bin lid and drive her to A&E in a van after they were told an ambulance could take eight hours. On Thursday, December 29, Dawn received a phone call to say her mum had fallen whilst walking her dog near Stryt Las pond in Johnstown.
North Wales Live reports that after an hour of the initial 999 call, Dawn called the ambulance service to see how long it was going to take. She said: "I phoned the ambulance service to check and the woman took all the details, but then she said 'I'm sorry, I've got no ambulance for your mum because she's not classed as an emergency, you'll have to get her to hospital yourself'"
At this point, Dawn said they were so scared after hearing stories of people dying while waiting for ambulances that they felt that they had to take matters into their own hands. She added: "Luckily my partner had hired a van so I asked him to come, and one of the neighbours ripped off the lid from the grit bin and we used that to stabilise my mum."
The family drove to Wrexham Maelor Hospital's A&E department and were met by "horrendous" queues of people waiting. Luckily they were spotted by a paramedic and Mrs Rolfe was taken to triage before being admitted to a ward at 7pm that evening, eight hours after the fall. Mrs Rolfe had surgery on her hip the next day and still remains in the hospital.
Dawn said: "If my mum had been left, she would have died, definitely. If she'd have gone in any other way, rather than in the van, heaven knows what would've happened, that was the lifesaver for her. People are dying on the streets waiting for ambulances.
"I said to my mum that she doesn't realise how lucky she was that she didn't go in the ambulance. It's a real eye-opener because she would've been left there for hours."
After the ordeal, Dawn said her mum was one of the lucky ones and praised the "fantastic" hospital and ambulance staff, but was "absolutely shocked and devastated" by the A&E queues and the emergency services' response. She said: "We were told 'she's not a priority,' but what is a priority? She's 80 next month, she was outside in the rain and the wind, and I dread to think what could have happened. People were queuing outside A&E and I just wanted to cry when I saw it, it was absolutely horrendous."
The Welsh Ambulance Service has apologised to the family for the distress caused by this incident. Stephen Sheldon, Service Manager in North Wales for the Welsh Ambulance Service, said: “We are deeply sorry to hear about Mrs Rolfe’s experience, and know how distressing it will have been for her and those around her as they waited for our help.
"Unfortunately, her experience is not unique, and while that doesn’t lessen the distress for Mrs Rolfe, it is symptomatic of the pressures that all elements of the health and care service in Wales – and across the UK – are facing.
“It is not now uncommon for in excess of 30% of our available crews to be tied up at hospitals waiting to hand over the care of patients. This means they are unable to get to patients in the community like Mrs Rolfe, resulting in very long waits for us to arrive."
NWL reports that Mr Sheldon said there is a "vicious circle" of patients being stuck in hospitals who can't be discharged. He said there are now 1,700 patients in hospitals across Wales who are ready to be discharged, but cannot go home as there's no appropriate care and support available for them in the community.
He added: “This is not the level of service we want to provide and we are working hard to improve things as a matter of urgency. We wish Mrs Rolfe all the very best for a speedy recovery, and invite her or her family to contact our Putting Things Right team to afford us the opportunity to listen to their experience in more detail and investigate appropriately.”
Dr Nick Lyons, Interim Deputy CEO and Medical Director at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, said: “I’m pleased this patient was admitted quickly and I wish her well in her recovery.
“We are seeing a very high volume of patients being admitted to our hospitals with flu and COVID-19, which currently represents 17% of patients, as well as an increase in the most seriously injured or unwell patients requiring emergency care.
“There remain challenges around discharging patients from hospital to suitable accommodation or care services and patients who are medically fit for discharge represent 15% of our patient population. This does impact flow through the entire hospital system and our ability to bring patients into and through the Emergency Department in a timely manner. We continue to work with our health and social care partners to improve this."
Members of the public with non-life-threatening conditions and who need medical help, are advised to visit the NHS Wales 111 website in the first instance to be advised about accessing the most appropriate service.
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