97 Yr old Gran waiting 8 hours for an ambulance with a broken hip!

I really do think age makes a difference. I was asked about my mother’s independence levels (she was very independent) while she was being resuscitated from a sudden collapse at A&E. It seemed very much as if they were trying to weight up whether it was worth the effort of trying to save her. Was also very callously told that “she had had a good life” at 79, by a medic that knew nothing about her, while telling me they wouldn’t be making any further attempts at resuscitation. Although, edited to say, I have the same issues as you with my son and yes, things could be improved regarding disabled people, but they do try to a point, just sometimes give up when it’s too difficult which shouldn’t be the case.

100% (call handler for a decade)

I actually had to ring 999 for myself (you know it's bad if I had to do that) and ended up speaking to a nurse who was lovely and obviously frustrated
I had maxed out pain relief, was on the floor shouting in pain and couldn't get up to get in a taxi. 3hr wait by which time I knew the pain would have passed

Thankfully my GP has given me morphine for home now, I said I need something for the acute pain flares

It was awful under labour too.

Maybe it was, but if so, it was considerably less awful. (Yes, the y-axis should start at 0, and yes, the little arrow on the top was added for political purposes, but the lines are based on real NHS data by the woke lefty commies at the checks notes Financial Times.)

I agree. In my area there used to be a falls prevention team. If an elderly person had a fall, they would visit them at home afterwards to put in place whatever needed to happen to prevent future falls. It could be new slippers, repairing carpet hazards, or physio to improve balance. It was cut under the Tories. Things like this save money in the long run.

Oh this is awful OP 😢 I hope your gran is finally in hospital and given treatment

Whole thing is on the point of disintegration I think- I was shocked with A&E today-e massively so. There were people there who 100% could have dealt with their issue differently. I personally watched a guy with an infected ingrown toenail kick off with 9 family members with him. 9 people- his wife, 4 kids under 10 and his parents and 2 friends.
Did not need A&E or 9 people with him - kids ran round the room screeching and in the car park while patient was wheeled outside for a fag and bitched about the NHS.
So many very elderly people in dire straits- investment in care homes/elder care is so underfunded but the harsh reality is people didn't live routinely til their late 90's until recently.
I was only transiting A&E today after taking my poor old mum (80) to a routine appointment. She has had a few admissions via A&E as cannot breathe/low oxygen. She was terrified last time she was admitted and we do everything we can to avoid it. In truth she would have died 5 years ago had it not been for family/medical advances.
Improvement in elder care is a massive issue. She has family close by who support her but god help those who don't. It's truly awful and a legacy of the Tory Government running the service into the ground that Labour now have to try and fix.

I think the answer is more hospitals, medics and beds, not forcing people who are unable to care for themselves or not well enough yet out.

Really hope she's been seen by now.

I agree on medical grounds
just not her payments into the system or war time activities which was my point.

I would say a 97-year-old woman with a broken hip who has been waiting nearly 10 hours for an ambulance is a priority actually.

Your grans personal life sacrifices and payments into the system will not and should not give her priority
Priority is given on medical need

Unfortunately that isn’t happening for people these days due to a high demand on an NHS that is on its knees.
I would write to your MP

We are all to blame for this shit show. For decades the NHS has been underfunded and yet we still voted in governments who didn't care enough to make it a priority.

Secondly, everyday I see families who try to refuse to let their relatives be discharged because they don't want to pay for social care or nursing home care, even though the patient is medically well and doesn't have criteria to reside.

They are guilty of abusing a system that is massively overstretched. Like it or not (and I would rather social care wasn't means assessed) everyone knows the rules re having to pay for packages of care now. Trying to refuse this won't work and just causes the system to block up.

Finally, for the love of God, will everyone please ensure that their grannie and grandad have suitable footwear (lost count of the 90 year olds I see in fluffy mules) and no loose rugs to trip over and if they have a Zimmer frame try to get them to use it as a mobility aid and not a clothes airer.

Accidents happen (my own Mum had a 9hour long lie with a fractured neck of femur) but we can all try to minimise the risks.

I really hope she has gone to hospital now.

Are you medically trained? What reason did Mumsnet give for deleting your posts?

Interesting point .... makes one wonder what kind of magic is involved in those countries with similar populations and where efficient healtcare isn't an issue at all 🤔

I am so sorry. I hope your Gran gets to hospital soon.
In January my (now late) DH had a cardiac arrest at home; fwiw, the ambulance arrived within 4 minutes of my panicked phone call (miraculously my phone was both to hand and charged!) with about six paramedics. This was in one of the most deprived areas of the North-West, so not everywhere is entirely broken, just huge bits of it - there was a corridor being used as a ward in the hospital my DH went to (he was in the ITU, and I don't know what was wrong with the patients shunted in a corridor).
The NHS has been purposely run-down, I think, by people who want to sell health care for profit.
Hope your Gran recovers ok. I feel like crying - but that wouldn't do anyone any good - contact your MP.

And my mum recently passed away at 71 with a heart attack. She called 999 and was told it would be a 3 hour wait for an ambulance.

This is what happens when people lie about their symptoms.

Yep it’s absolutely ridiculous! I don’t see how it can get better tbh. It takes 5-10 years to build a hospital. Similar probably to train people? Ageing population and importing half a million people a year. We will never catch up. It’s a slum country.

@Schoolchoicesucks , indeed I am! The OP contacted 111 which was the correct thing to do and was told to go in but was not instructed to call an ambulance. She was taken by car to hospital. Calling an ambulance would have been an abuse of the service in these circumstances in my opinion.

The post where the OP needed gas & air to get into A&E and is still in hospital immobile receiving pain relief? Are you saying that you stand by your view that had an ambulance been sent for her it would have been an abuse?

This was my first thought too, surely it's better to keep people as old as 97 home and prescribed decent pain relief to keep them comfortable.

Elderly dogs and cats are given a more dignified end to their life than Elderly people.

Admittedly I was only about 10 years old with little interest in politics, but I do distinctly remember the news being constantly about people being left on trolleys in corridors for 24 hours+ and MRSA under labour. The ambulance wait times is definitely a Tory thing though - it's ludicrous that they have to sit outside the hospital with the patient for hours, unable to help anyone else.

@LoveCherryTree , a couple of days ago someone posted and I suggested that if they were to call an ambulance it would be an abuse of the service. Some of my posts including that one I believe were deleted by @Mumsnet many, many posters thought my comments unacceptable.
The NHS was created in and for a different time entirely and can no longer possibly cope with the demands on it. A conversation needs to be had about what we can reasonably expect from our NHS moving forward. I especially hope we are tough with waste and with those who abuse the service.
I wish your gran well, I miss mine who I lost 40 years ago so much.