The Scottish Ambulance Service has apologised after an 89-year-old Scots gran was left stranded on the floor for five hours after breaking her hip.
Ella Nimmo was in extreme pain after falling on her way to the toilet at Balmoral Care Home in Giffnock, East Renfrewshire, on Tuesday August 9. Hearing her shouts of agony, staff quickly attended to the pensioner but were unable to provide her with the necessary medical attention.
They immediately called for an ambulance but after waiting over two and half hours were told over the phone they would be waiting a further two and a half. The grandmother-of-eight begged for painkillers while she was forced to wait.
After her excruciating wait, Ella was eventually transferred to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow - five hours later. However, after arriving at the hospital she then had to wait in the ambulance outside A&E for an hour as there was no immediate space for her.
Ella's daughter, Yvonne Bennett, was left anxiously waiting for the call to say her mum had been transferred, and rushed to the hospital to wait in the ambulance with her.
Speaking on Monday, Yvonne said: "She's really not great. She's still frightened from the whole experience. With all the drugs, she's a bit spacey too.
"The staff were constantly phoning the ambulance. After two and a half hours they were told it would be another two and a half hours.
"We had been out that day and we had taken her out for dinner. We were meant to be taking her shopping on Wednesday for my son's wedding in a couple of weeks, which she was really excited for.
"I had no idea when the ambulance would turn up, or which hospital she'd go to. I had to wait at my daughter's.
"The buck stops with the government, the people in power. I'm an ex-nurse and I know how to listen to people, and so many people have shared similar stories.
"I was sitting in an ambulance with Gaelic on the side. Where does the money go? Only 2% of the population have a working understanding of the language.
"Staff are really struggling. I can't fault any of them though. They were fantastic.
"I'll never forget her looking at me in the ambulance and begging for help. I'll never, ever forget it."
Ella's fall comes just months after she lost her husband Sandy, 87, who she had been caring for after he was badly affected by Covid. She was later left unable to care for him after picking up an infection which wiped out her mobility, causing the couple to both go into care.
Sandy died in May this year - just months before the pair would have been celebrating their 67th wedding anniversary on Saturday August 13. Ella and the family are currently waiting to hear the decision from the anaesthetist on whether she can receive surgery today.
Data published in May 2022 stated that over 40,000 Scots waited more than two hours for an ambulance in 2021/22. Further numbers released this week found more than two thirds of arrivals are waiting more than four hours to be seen in A&E in Scotland.
A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesperson said: "While we are limited in what we can say because of patient confidentiality, we can confirm we received a call at 2039 hours on Tuesday 9th August. We have a robust triage process in place to ensure patients get the best response for their clinical need and based on the information provided, this call was triaged appropriately for further consultation from one of our Advanced Practitioners (AP).
"Following assessment from the AP, the call was upgraded and on two occasions an ambulance was dispatched but re-routed to a higher priority emergency call. We would like to apologise to the patient for the delay and hope she is recovering well."
Balmoral Care Home today declined to comment on the incident.
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