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

My mum was 4 hours with a sudden brain haemorrhage, was called in as stroke with stroke symptoms and unfortunately didn’t survive. I always wonder what if as I’m a nurse myself. Was told in icu when care was withdrawn that they don’t think it would have changed the outcome but I’ll never know. It sure is hard though at work seeing all the calls from frequent callers and I have to try and seperate myself from that

Many of these waits are outrageous, makes me angry and sad in equal measure.

I broke my leg recently. We live in rural France. Ambulance, 3 pompiers and a nurse arrived within 10 minutes.

im reading this thread wondering if I’m unusual because I’ve never called one, and don’t know anyone that ever did. Or are all similar folk scrolling on by as they’ve nothing to contribute. Like me I guess.

It was at least an hour, DD having seizures and her care plan is to call an ambulance immediately. She has brain damage already. It was horrible.

A year ago, I was told it was a 7 hr wait, so I drove the patient to the hospital myself. Awful journey with them screaming in pain. Got there, went in and asked for a wheelchair. No one wanted to help, blank faces all round. So I found a wheelchair, wrestled him in it and wheeled him in, screaming like a banshee. That mobilised them.

FIL waited 10 hours in Scotland this Spring with a broken hip on his bathroom floor. My mum waited about 2 hours to be picked up then about another 10 in the back of the ambulance with a stroke this time last year in the South East. Both in their 80’s with pre existing conditions - cancer and heart failure. Both still here.

My dad was had a heart attack followed by SVT and waited 45 mins. This was 8 years ago and by the time my dad got to hospital his heart rate was 228. They shocked him back into normal rhythm but it was very scary waiting that long.

The only time I called one for me it was under 20 mins. On another occasion I got a taxi to A&E and was told off for not calling an ambulance. I’ve waited several hours for an ambulance to transfer one of my patients to the tertiary centre for emergency lifesaving treatment.

About 25/30 mins I think but we lived in the arse end of no where and some idiot on our estate blocked one of the routes in and the ambulance couldn't get through.

Omg do you have rescue medication or did you have to wait for the paramedics? That’s so scary

Nearly an hour, despite the person who phoned claiming my leg was falling off. It was a really nasty accident, 3 months off work, but my leg wasn’t falling off despite the fact that there was lots of it on the ground. Very glad the femoral wasn’t involved, down to the muscle/bone, lots subsequently got removed.

The only time i’ve ever needed an ambulance- took DD to Dr’s as she was lethargic. Dr said she might have sepsis so called an ambulance. They took over an hour and we got to hospital about 3 hours later. I thought that was shocking for a 7 month old with potential sepsis!

5 hours at the side of a road with someone with signs of a spinal injury and leg numbness after they were hit by a car. Ambulance service ignored repeated calls and I eventually had to lie and pretend she was developing signs of haemorrhagic shock so I could get them to prioritise her.

I had to get the police to drive to the nearest hospital to take a neck brace from the emergency team so I could stabilise her neck while she waited for them to come. Truly appalling.

Even the ambulance crew told me they were shocked (while they were spinal boarding her).

2.5 hours. Couldn’t move so no alternative.

About 2 and a half hours, a few weeks ago with an elderly person after a fall. Category 2 apparently. They were in so much pain (and bleeding/on blood thinners along with the broken leg so it was scary). But I guess we were lucky reading some of these. The ambulance people were outstanding, such good care. The hospital too - but so, so busy.

We’ve only ever had to call once for a family member and they arrived within 10 minutes.

When i broke my foot DH just drove me in.

When DS had very bad croup i drove him. That was a horrendous 20 mins but I knew it was the quickest way to get him in. Once there they got steroids into him within about 3 minutes, they could hear how he was gasping for breath.

Basically I've only ever gone in ambulance when its been that lifesaving medical treatment is needed literally on route.

My dad had to wait about 6 hours I think. Believe me, if the people with him could have, they would have taken him to the hospital themselves but it wasn’t possible due to the risk of further injury. He then waited several hours in the back of the ambulance to even be able to get into a+e and then several days to get a bed on a ward.

I called an ambulance for a man I found in the street collapsed on the floor and not responding. It took the ambulance 45 minutes to arrive.
A passerby helped me put the man in the recovery position and waited with me for the ambulance.

11 hours and was a broken back.

Only ever about 20 mins

Ive had 3 occasions

• 2 x baby with breathing difficulty (ended up on a ventilator)
• 1 x miscarriage with complications - so so so much blood everywhere

On all 3 occasions it was blue lights bombing it to the hospital

Was having severe pain turned out to be gallbladder was told would be an 18hr wait, my son drove me, I then spent 36 hrs in A and E, then 12 hours on a ward before going home

Not in the uk. 5 minutes. Only needed one once in my life. They basically materialized out of thin air and started working on my dd. It took about 45 minutes before she was stabile enough to transport because they had to build splints small enough to put her in from scratch, but they had pain medication going very quickly.

12 hours overnight sitting with DM who had had a fall, and was bleeding but conscious etc so not a priority. It was a few years ago, post-pandemic but at one of the times when the local hospitals ambulance service were in crisis.

A few months later she waited another 12 hours+ after another fall, and then was in the ambulance outside A&E for another 12 hours after that. She never went home again.

Never more than 8 minutes (4 ambulances in the last 5 years) but then I don’t live in the UK.