Son lashes out at ambulance service (From South Wales Argus)
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Son lashes out at ambulance service
8:40pm Friday 23rd October 2009 in Gwent news
Sarah Twist, 94, who waited over three hours for an ambulance which did not arrive
A NEWPORT man says his 94-year-old mother was forced to wait over three hours in pain for an ambulance that never arrived - and he was then told a hospital was too busy to find her a bed.
After tiring of waiting, Ryan Twist,from Glasllwch, decided to drive mum Sarah to the Royal Gwent Hospital himself- but was told not to because there were no beds available and she would have to sit in a waiting area.
He instead drove her from Rogerstone to Caerphilly Miners hospital, where she will remain for the foreseeable future, receiving treatment for a kidney infection.
Mr Twist blasted the Welsh Ambulance Trust and Aneurin Bevan Health Board for showing his mother a “lack of dignity”.
A doctor was called to The Oaks care home, Rogerstone, on Wednesday because grandmother of five and great grandmother of six, Mrs Twist, hadn’t eaten for two days and was suffering pains in her kidneys.
The GP called an ambulance at around 6.30pm and Mr Twist phoned the ambulance service at 7.30pm and 8.30pm to check where it was.
“They kept telling me my mother was on a waiting list,” said Mr Twist, 62, of Glasllwch Crescent. “By 10pm, I was fed up and phoned the Gwent (hopsital) to say I was bringing her in myself. But they said there were no beds available.”
Mr Twist then drove Mrs Twist to Caerphilly Miners Hospital.
“She was dehydrated, confused and in pain,” said Mr Twist. “Luckily it is just a kidney infection, but it could have been worse, she is 94.”
He added: “What upsets me is how do they prioritise people for ambulances? If someone in Newport city centre fell down drunk, there would be an ambulance there immediately.”
A spokesman for the Aneurin Bevan health board said the Royal Gwent was very busy on Wednesday night.
He added: “We have to ensure patients are placed on the most appropriate ward for their condition. This takes time and when there are surges in demand from time to time there is a longer wait for available beds.”
Doctor Alan Jarrett of the medical centre, Usk, said that people in similar situations should act according to how ill the person is.
He said if they are in need of an oxygen mask and have conditions, such as a bad heart, it is not advisable to move them.
However, with infections such as Mrs Twist’s, he advised people to transport relatives to hospital themselves if possible.
Comments(17)
jilted john
says...
7:48am Sat 24 Oct 09
Not a very safe condition to drive.
You look at the history of this poor lady and why should she have to wait for an ambulance. This woman is 94 like her son said himself drunks get priority.
You imagine how much has been paid by this lady over the years or the wars she’s been threw.
Maybe we should all take note. No matter how much you pay out of your wages
For ambulances the police or bin men
If anyone has an accident or not feeling good you take the risk by carrying him or her yourself to your car. Maybe some one else will pick up the bodies you hit in a blind panic on the way to hospital. Ambulances are not a taxi service according to Aquarius Take your own rubbish to the tip
And deal with crime yourself don’t call the police there not your big brother .
Gareth
says...
9:36am Sat 24 Oct 09
unfortunately, we are not in that world, so we have to prioritise. and it would have been the emergency doctor who made the call as to whether she was in immediate danger and needed urgent blues and twos.
The lady was in a safe environment and no immediate danger (as the doctor would have told the ambulance service).
the ambulance service also said that she was on a waiting list, and an ambulance was not actually on its way. similarly, they were told that there were no available beds. so no one has actually lied to them. it's just the nature of the resourcing of the health service as it stands.
as for the 'drunks getting priority' disgust: a person reported as collapsed out in public is of course a higher priority that someone indoors and in no imminent danger. and once the ambulance has arrived to find that the collapsed person is drunk, they still have a legal obligation to take them to A&E.
whether we like that or not, it is the law and hardly the fault of the hospital or ambulance service. neither is it their fault that the emergency doctor made a decision that she was not a priority case.
that said, these realities do nothing to alleviate the pain and upset that any family feels when they are in the same situation. I'm just glad this old lady has got her hospital bed and care.
Davi
says...
11:20am Sat 24 Oct 09
Aquarius
says...
12:52pm Sat 24 Oct 09
And what has crime and the police got to do with THIS ISSUE? You sound like you have a big chip on your shoulder about everything!
The fact is that one of the problems the Ambulance Service has is the inappropriate useage of it - not just by the public but also health professionals. As for elderly persons homes and care homes, you'd be surprised at the number who dial 999 because a resident has fallen and - due supposedly to health and safety - the staff are "not allowed to pick them up". This isn't people with injuries we're talking about; this is people who have simply fallen over and the staff won't help get them up!
As for picking up intoxicated people, of course the Ambulance Services nationwide are overrun with this sort of call. The problem is that a seriously drunk person is usually unconscious and therefore at risk of an uncontrolled airway - consequently, like it or not (and the Ambulance Service doesn't make these rules, there are national clinical guidelines) these people come into a higher priority for attendance.
People need to think before requesting an ambulance - it is as simple as that. The Service has enough problems - as have do hospitals themselves - without people and the media (ie the Argus) manufacturing issues. As for the delay in sending an ambulance to this lady, have you considered that there was clearly a bed shortage at the time, and that had she been taken in immediately, this patient would have been waiting on a trolley in the Assessment Unit or in A+E for hours anyway, while the staff dealt with more critical cases?
Get out into the *real world*, jilted john. Unfortunately, it's not an ideal one, even for a 94 year old sick lady. No one likes that fact, but it *is* a fact, unfortunately.
Bobevans
says...
1:44pm Sat 24 Oct 09
Aquarius wrote:So you are now a medical expert> The GP decides given the age and condition of the patient that tranport by amublance was appropriate. It was hardly treating an ambulance as a taxi.
Here we go again. While having every sympathy with this lady and her family, why did the GP arrange ambulance transport without checking if there was another means of getting her to hospital first? No thought - just the "transport = ambulance" attitude. Again. And exactly the same attitude from Mr Twist. Who eventually decides to get his car out and take his mother to hospital. Which is probably what should have happened in the first place. Dr Jarrett's comments say it all really. If you can go by car and the medical condition allows it, go by car. AND STOP TREATING AMBULANCES AS TAXIS. Honestly....! *Tut tut*
I would sooner accept a GP's decision then you unqualified gueswork
Bobevans
says...
1:47pm Sat 24 Oct 09
Davi wrote:The remit of a care home is to care for the elderly in the home. It's not there responsibility to transport patients to hospitals. Thats the resonsibility of the ambulance service
Sorry Mr Twist but the Oaks Care Home should have sought medical attention for your mother sooner plus they should have arranged to get her to the hospital. They are a private home and charge enough for it's residents and should follow the line of Authority run homes who would never have placed your mothers possible hospital admission in your hands.
sparkman
says...
3:55pm Sat 24 Oct 09
sparkman
says...
3:58pm Sat 24 Oct 09
Aquarius
says...
3:59pm Sat 24 Oct 09
Who says I'm unqualified?
The fact is there are many GPs who ring for ambulance transport without checking whether there is alternative transport (and assuming the patient is suitable). They - like you - make the mistake of thinking that it's the "responsibility of the ambulance service to transport patients to hospital".
See? Yes - it's the responsibility of the ambulance service to transport - and treat while they are transporting - APPROPRIATE PATIENTS to hospital. It is unlikely an ambulance crew could have done much for this patient because (in theory; it doesn't always work in practice...!) the visiting GP should already have done that. That's why the GP is a GP and is, supposedly, more qualified than a paramedic or technician!
It is NOT the task of the ambulance service to transport all and sundry to hospital - even though you seem to think it is. I've seen your attitudes to the ambulance service before (failed to get in did you?). Get off your high horse and stop trying to argue with people like me who DO know more about it than you do.
Aquarius
says...
4:03pm Sat 24 Oct 09
You're absolutely right, and no one in the Ambulance Service would disagree with you. No one who clinically requires an ambulance should have to wait and unreasonable amount of time for an ambulance.
Why not pass that sentiment on to the Welsh Assembly, who have banned the ambulance service from making any detailed comments on cases such as these, and who have repeatedly failed to come up with funding so that the Service can have what it needs: appropriate resources to deal with a huge rise in calls (and public expectations). In other words, it needs more people on the ground, rather than demands to be paying back £X million to the Welsh Assembly....!
NigelNewInn
says...
4:20pm Sat 24 Oct 09
And jilted John we do deal with crime ourselves as the police rarely respond to trivial things like crime.
J.Griffiths
says...
11:27pm Sat 24 Oct 09
My nephew fell off his bike a while back, had a large, heavily bleeding gash on his arm and a break which needed an operation in the end, had fainted twice due to the fear and pain but we waited and waited for an ambulance, over 90 mins in the end we had to call around friends until we found somebody to drive us there, its not about priorities its under funding!
More and more of these cases are being reported so sadly its a growing trend but to say that this lady did not deserve or need an ambulance??? How could you think that a woman of her age in pain should be bundled into a car to drive god knows how far to the nearest hospital with a bed is right, what if she had taken a turn for the worse on the way, what was her son supposed to do then pull over and treat her himslef on the side of the dam road?
Makes me sick!
Bobevans
says...
9:03am Sun 25 Oct 09
J.Griffiths wrote:Clearly no one condones people who abuse the ambulance service but this was not such a case. The woman was 94 and in a care home. At that age any illness could be serious.
94 and in pain, yes her GP saw her but did he have an x.ray or a blood test machine in his bag? She was in need of immediate help. Not like GP's ever get it wrong is it! Anything could have been wrong with her and an ambulance was clearly needed if you ask me! My nephew fell off his bike a while back, had a large, heavily bleeding gash on his arm and a break which needed an operation in the end, had fainted twice due to the fear and pain but we waited and waited for an ambulance, over 90 mins in the end we had to call around friends until we found somebody to drive us there, its not about priorities its under funding! More and more of these cases are being reported so sadly its a growing trend but to say that this lady did not deserve or need an ambulance??? How could you think that a woman of her age in pain should be bundled into a car to drive god knows how far to the nearest hospital with a bed is right, what if she had taken a turn for the worse on the way, what was her son supposed to do then pull over and treat her himslef on the side of the dam road? Makes me sick!
She was also seen by a qualified GP who determined that she needed hospital treatment and that it should be treated as an emergency and that an ambulance should be called.
The fact that an ambulance did not turn up after many hours raises very serious questions about how the service is being run and managed.
A 3.5 hour wait and an ambulance still not turning up is just not acceptable but unfortunatly its a regular occurance. THe excuse that they are busy just does not wash
I have looked up statistics on this and England has a similar provsion of ambulances as to Wales yet does not suffer these problems. So why does Wales. What is different in Wales that the same level of ambulance coverage cannot provide a proper service. If you call an Ambulance in England you can preety near guarantee one will turn up with 15 minutes in Urban areas and 30 minutes in Rural areas.
Roger Myjacsee
says...
6:40pm Tue 27 Oct 09
Not every ambulance is reponded as an emergency using it's lights and siren. Some are responded as what is known as an urgent call. These urgent calls are arranged by GP's or other health care professionals.
Urgent calls have time limits of 1 hour, 2 hours and 4 hours. The GP decides on the time limit.
So the GP in this case may have requested a 4 hour response so there for the son is in the wrong for thinking that his mother would have an immediate 999 reponse.
You are all right that it is inhumane to keep someone in pain waiting. So, did the GP administer any pain refief until the ambulance arrived? I would have hoped so as he would have neglected paitent care if he didn't.
Too many people think there is an ambulance waiting on their street corner with their name on it. People don't seem to understand that just because you dial 999 you won't automatically get an ambulance to your door in 8 minutes.
Calls are triaged and prioritised as Immediatly Life Threatening (Cardiac Arrest or Heart Attack), Not Immediatly Life Threatening (Faint or Siezure) and Non Life Threatening (Broken Bones or Falls).
Maybe the ambulance service should start charging for any calls that do not actually need an ambulance. Maybe then people will think before dialing 999 and leave ambulances avaliable to transport people who actually need transporting.
Goldy_Lookin_Clart
says...
4:02pm Thu 29 Oct 09
Katie T
says...
1:24pm Fri 30 Oct 09
Aquarius says...
10:07pm Fri 23 Oct 09
No thought - just the "transport = ambulance" attitude. Again.
And exactly the same attitude from Mr Twist. Who eventually decides to get his car out and take his mother to hospital. Which is probably what should have happened in the first place. Dr Jarrett's comments say it all really.
If you can go by car and the medical condition allows it, go by car. AND STOP TREATING AMBULANCES AS TAXIS.
Honestly....! *Tut tut*