Help! 4 hours waiting for ambulance

[Bonnynorton2]

DF has fallen and broken his hip. He has dementia. He has been lying in pain for probably about 7 hours at at home.His carer found him 4 hours ago and called an ambulance. They are still waiting. The carer has been unable to visit other people he cares for or go home. I live 5 hours away. If I had known the wait would be that long I would have left immediately. Any suggestions about what I can do? DF lives in Dorset and I live in London.

To anyone who is advising to callback and say "chest pains" that is terrible advice!!! as @likencivers I to work for the Ambulance service and to read what people would say to get an ambulance is very frustrating, and makes our job VERY difficult! If you want to get a better understanding of how the Ambulance service works or how calls are allocated watch " Ambulance" that should help!

Chest pain pfffttttt 🙄

OP ignore the negative posters, you did what you could under the circumstances. I'm so glad he's on his way to hospital now.

@Bonnynorton

Hope you're DF is better soon x

Claiming chest pains wouldn't necessarily do much good anyway, my mum waited for 4 hours suffering a heart attack

I suspect it happens every day all over the country with each individual family thinking they have been uniquely unfortunate.

Quite possibly but I know of a particularly large number in the SW and whilst its true to say triaging happens, it happens against a set of criteria which may not treat all age groups differently. More than one of the medical staff implied quite strongly that they should have reported "drifting in and out of consciousness" because on the tarrif, her age worked against her in prioritisation.

Bonnynorton2 It must be hard not being able to get to him quickly but he'll be being looked after now, hope your journey tomorrow goes smoothly and your DF is on the mend soon

may not treat all age groups differently

Sorry that should have been "may not treat all age groups as equivalent".

Please don't ever try to get bumped up the list.

If you're waiting, it means someone else whose condition is more life-threatening is being prioritised over you. Getting them bumped down could literally kill them.

This is a result of chronic under funding, not poor management or the people at the end of the phone not understanding or caring about the predicament you're in.

I've spent a lot of time in the last few months in and around our local A&E department and I've noticed that they now have trolleys lining the corridor ready for patients because they fully expect not to have enough space. They know there aren't beds for patients needing admission so they now expect to be swamped with people in corridors and doubling up in cubicles.

They are, without exception, kind and courteous to the patients and work like trojans to keep everyone as safe and comfortable as possible. The last things they need is people pretending to be more unwell than they are because they know how to get other, sicker people bumped down the list so they can take their place.

We waited three hours for the ambulance when dd had a severe asthma attack. We got a written apology.

You’re poor dad , I hope he recovers well. Safe trip tomorrow

Thinking of you and your dad, I'm glad he's at the hospital now

My mum was discharged with a broken hip after the a&e dr missed it on the X-ray. It was only after the consultant radiologist reviewed the films and noticed the massive brake.
I saw the film when she was recalled to hospital and even I noticed the brake and I’m not a dr.
Hopefully your dad is feeling better, my mum had a replacement hip and she’s done really well with it and has recovered better than expected.

Dorset does have a very large elderly population. Many people choose to move here to retire which does put a strain on the local health services. Hope that your Dad makes a good recovery.

Poor man, I hope he gets seen quickly, and not left for hours in a corridor

Yubaba- easy to spot a break after you've been told it's there...

This is happening all over the country and not just to elderly people. My friend waited three hours for an ambulance with her six year old with a suspected neck injury just recently in a different area. They were outdoors and the child had hypothermia by the time an ambulance came for them despite my friend's best efforts to keep the child warm with duvets etc. Fortunately all was well but really, a child with a neck injury who couldn't be moved in case it was made worse and three hours? Hypothermia can kill.

It's the effects of austerity. Please think about this when you get the chance to vote.

OP, I hope your dad is doing OK now. Best wishes to you and him.

Glad your dad is in hospital now and best wishes for an easy journey in the morning.
I do hope the agency/council will pay the carer for staying with him.
It's not easy to move someone with dementia to a new setting be that hospital or a new area to be near family.
Care and health provision is in crisis and people lying on floors in pain for 8 hours isn't front page news anymore :(

Oh dear. My Mum almost died due to an ambulance wait. We made three phonecalls as she was eventually going unconscious and they made it about a half hour after that - we had initially phoned 4 and a half hours before. I think when you're calm about it, they can put you low down the list, but it took 3 calls and the third call where she had actually gone unconscious for them to arrive. I personally think another 10 minutes and she'd have been dead, but of course we never pursued it.

Please think about this when you get the chance to vote.

Yes but who should we vote for? Brexit and knife crime seems to be all my folk are concerned with.

Vote for a party that isn't saying we 'can't afford' to fund services to maintain a decent and civilised society.

Sorry. I posted because I was stressed and upset about my dad but this has brought out my anger about what has happened to our country. I spend time in Germany. It is understood there that alongside a thriving business economy we need the whole population to be healthy and cared for. Why on earth not here too? Why not? That's not idealism or even socialism it's just common sense. Affordable common sense.

Anyway. I have just spoken to my dad and the nurses in A and E. there will be another 2/3 hours of pain and confusion before he is seen by a doctor. That will be more than 12 hours since he fell. 12 hours of an untreated hip fracture. An old man who has lived all his life here and paid everything he should into the system. Shame on anyone who thinks this is ok.

I'm sorry for your dad op, that's unacceptable

I’m sorry to hear about your dad Bonnynorton2. My mum lived in Dorset had a fall and it took 9 hours for the ambulance to come. Admittedly she had no broken bones but developed sepsis. It’s just shocking. I hope he’s ok

This is terrible, OP and all seems unjust, I understand your anger.

Very best wishes to your dear father

For future reference yes, you can hire a private ambulance, but how much good it does when you get to an NHS hospital is unclear. You probably join the queue of other ambulances waiting outside.

At least you wouldn't be at risk of hypothermia and the ambulance staff could treat you if you got worse.