What's the longest you have had to wait for an ambulance?7

And what happened to you?
I think I must have been super lucky with my 90 second wait for my kid. Ambulance must have been just outside. My kid was absolutely fine as well, no illness or injury. He was about six and trapped in something in a really awkward position with people using all their strength to protect him (this couldn't have lasted long). As I said, he was completely fine, just distressed but it could have turned really nasty, losing limbs, any second. He'd absolutely definitely have been dead if he'd had to wait hours.
Actually, I say that but I think a call would have gone out in the community strong men and machines would have showed up to rescue him. A crowd wouldn't have watched a six year old die waiting for emergency services and done nothing.

15 minutes whilst doing CPR on someone. They survived.

13 hours and a 12 hours. Both for 80 odd year old Mum. Absolutely disgraceful.

I actually think that a really good idea. A friend works as a 999 call handler, she says she get loads of call from people who just can't afford a taxi and can't drive/have nobody to drive them.

My mum - about 5 hours on the floor at home with a broken ankle and a care worker staying with her and then at least another 5 hours in the ambulance at the hospital queuing for a bed ( therefore putting that ambulance out of action for the next person)

Me - when I was in labour, a matter of minutes, thankfully

Dh is a paramedic, his record was someone on the floor for 31 hours

2 hours 45 for my mother who had a stroke and couldn’t move, she died 6 days later, I used to be so angry with the ambulance service after that but then my sister who has severe mental health problems was suicidal and they arrived within 10 minutes to help her.

I called an ambulance on Oct 4th 2021 and it just never turned up. I suppose you could say I’m still waiting for it now. After a few hours of me rolling around the floor and going a Marge Simpson shade of yellow, DP took me into A&E and I had emergency surgery for acute cholecystitis. The consultant in A&E said any longer and I would have gone into sepsis.

15 mins.

Once when I broke my back and once when I went into shock and my heart nearly stopped.

All other less serious medical events I’ve always done the right thing of not bothering the ambulance service.

This is sad and quite terrifying. Can we do something?

most communities now have defibrillators. Can we get community stretchers that can be loaded into a car across the back seat? Can we organise training so people can learn how to move someone safely? Maybe we can work with local community transport groups to adapt their vehicles and organise volunteers for emergency transport too?

Seven hours due to a neck injury in rugby, I had a C6 fracture, when I had a compound leg fracture I think it was almost five hours. Other times it’s been so quick it feels like they were sat waiting around the corner.

Nearly 5 hours after my mum had a seizure linked to her heart condition, she started seizing at 7.23pm & by the time it stopped at 7.27pm I was on the phone to 999, the ambulance turned up at 12.15am. Ds has waited up to 12 hours when his dad has needed to be admitted, he has secondary progressive MS & is usually admitted for sepsis caused by a UTI.

I’m afraid so, mid morning on a Saturday and no ambulances were available to be sent.

Only ever called twice, both for seizures when DD was a baby. Both time ambulance arrive in less than 10 minutes (felt like hours though).

I've only needed one twice

The first time....I'm not sure....it was after I had overdosed. But generally I think between exes mum ringing them and them arriving it was only about 20 mins (though this was circa 2009)-that does sound stupidly quick granted, although I should probably add that not that long after being admitted I did almost die and have to be resuscitated.

The second time I'd called 111, had all the symptoms of a stroke so had no choice but to be blue lighted to hospital though thankfully it turned out to be Bells Palsy, again that was very very quick.

I've fortunately never been in the position of having to wait hours.

About 30 minutes for myself.
Trouble breathing, Fast heart rate and feeling like i would collapse
(About 12 hours after a general anthestic)

Had Kidney injury and was admitted

• Dont drive, was no taxis and was mismddle of night

Thankfully I've never had had to ring one

We live literally a 5 minute drive from the hospital though so whenever we have needed to go I've just quickly popped in a taxi

8 minutes, so I’m told.
I was in a psychiatric hospital and had taken a massive overdose. A nurse found me and called the ambulance. I wasn’t expected to survive the night but unfortunately did.

8 hours. couldn't walk so no way I could get there by taxi - I would have had to crawl on hands and knees across the car park and into the hospital which didn't seem very sensible

9 hours with a broken hip - they knew he was laying in the garden

10 hours - elderly person outside on a hard surface in the rain. Nobody could lift them as they had clear fractures. They weren't always conscious during that time. Terrible time. Happened about two years ago.

2 hours. Was for mental health reasons.

About 6 years ago my husband had a really bad accident wlby slipping on a wet mat. His ankle was just hanging there. They told us 5 hours for an ambulance. Luckily we were with a very strong bloke who picked him up and chucked him in the car so we could get him to a&e. They told us if we had waited for the ambulance, he would have lost the foot. We were so lucky he wasn't just with me as I would not have been able to get him in the car on my own.

Today 5.5 hours. Regularly given a 3 - 8 hour wait in work. It’s nearly always quicker for people to take themselves here at the moment.

I had the same experience when my elderly DF had a fall. I kept checking on progress with the ambulance service and offered to try to get him to the hospital ourselves, though to be honest I couldn’t have lifted him without hurting myself. They told me to wait and definitely not try to move him myself.