PRESSURES on the town’s ambulance service meant an 83-year-old woman was left waiting 45 minutes after suffering a head injury following a fall at a Stockton Heath car park.
The woman fell on the Forge car park at Stockton Heath earlier this week and was lay on cold damp ground until members of the public came to her assistance, along with staff from the nearby M&S store and local medical centre.
Local shopper Mavis McCue, who alerted the ambulance service, said: “It was lucky there was a few of us to help out.
“I rang for an ambulance and it took quite a while to get through. After telling them where we were and about the lady they said they would send an ambulance. However it was 45 minutes before it arrived.
“She was cold lay on the cold wet ground. We got blankets etc to keep her as warm as we could. Staff from M&S and the doctors surgery were brilliant – but the main issue is the length of time it took for the ambulance to arrive. It was disgraceful really.”
A spokesperson for North West Ambulance Service said: “The Trust did receive a phone call at 8:53 on Monday 9 January to an elderly female who had fallen in the street. An ambulance arrived at 09:44 and took the patient to hospital.
“Based on the information that was given to our Emergency Medical Dispatcher, this was not categorised as an immediately life-threatening emergency and therefore priority was given to more serious incidents in the area at the same time.
“In Warrington on that date between 8:30am and 9:30am there were seven potentially life-threatening incidents including patients suffering seizures, loss of consciousness and difficulty in breathing which meant we were unable to reach the patient as quickly as we would have liked.
“We do understand that, although the patient was thankfully in the care of nearby medical professionals, waiting for an ambulance is very distressing and as soon as one became available, it was dispatched.
“If the patient or her family would like to get in touch with us to discuss this further, they can contact our patient experience team who will be happy to help.”
