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Original poster

45 minutes for an ambulance

128 replies

chaddydays · 14/12/2022 14:56

To take a child with suspected meningitis/sepsis to hospital.

A child (baby!) of 10 months. Rash that won't fade under pressure. High temp and vomiting, light sensitivity

Just awful. My friend from across the road ran to me in desperation as I'm a carer for my son so she knew I'd be in

My bloody car was in for a service and I couldn't help her, couldn't take her. Taxi was going to be same time as ambulance so we booked it and it arrived at same time as the ambulance (we did it to see who's get there first and she'd take that option)

Disgusting. This is what this country has come to. What a disgrace.

2 weeks on and that baby girl still hasn't recovered much and is very unwell. My friend is wanting to go public with the story but worried about attaching her face to it

OP posts:
namechange0998776554432 · 14/12/2022 16:12

My daughter had a bleed after surgery a few years ago. Was highest priority, as far as they knew a child was essentially bleeding to death, and the ambulance still took 45 minutes. Luckily she stopped bleeding in the meantime but they didn't know that. I was shocked at the time. More recently son with suspected neck injury took about two hours. I wasn't surprised this time around. I take the attitude now that if there was a genuine emergency, you're rarely better off waiting for an ambulance rather than driving to a hospital yourself. Even if someone needs life saving intervention, they're unlikely to get it in time.

Tessabelle74 · 14/12/2022 16:13

What will going public achieve? We KNOW it's a shit show, the ambulance service KNOW it's a shit show, the government KNOW it's a shit show so it won't surprise anyone or change anything. Your friend needs to concentrate on her baby and let it go, it's horrendous but unfortunately nothing could have been done differently

Choccyp1g · 14/12/2022 16:14

It works like this
Ambulances are stuck outside the hospitals because there is no room for them in A and E.
There is no room in A and E because the people in A and E need to be moved onto a ward.
There is no room on the ward because the wards are full of people who can't be discharged because they don't have an appropriate care package in place.

Then people without a care package call an ambulance .. back to point 1

Like PP said - all roads lead to there not being enough home carers. It doesn't really matter if it's children, adults or the elderly because they all still have to wait for the same ambulances. Which are stuck outside A and E.

ICanHideButICantRun · 14/12/2022 16:14

My mum broke her hip in the garden on the hottest day of the year, then waited eight hours for an ambulance to arrive, then spent another 12 hours in an ambulance outside the hospital. Then another five hours to see someone once inside.

I hope your friend's baby is OK but I really don't think a 45 minute wait at the moment will attract headlines. In fact it would be seen as a Christmas Miracle.

LimitIsUp · 14/12/2022 16:15

Thekormachameleon · 14/12/2022 15:09

Honestly? 45 mins for a c2 ambulance is pretty good. There have been waits of 7/8 hours recently

It shouldn't be a race to the bottom

Redglitter · 14/12/2022 16:15

DenholmElliot11 · 14/12/2022 15:50

No love I didn't. Casualty is fiction right?

Show quote history

It is but they've obviously got some cracking medical advisors. Recent episodes have been very indicative of the problems the NHS, particularly A&E and Ambulance crews are having in real life

PotatoFamily · 14/12/2022 16:16

My DH was told there was a ten hour wait for an ambulance after third degree burns on a huge area of his body. I had to wrap him in clingfilm and lie him down in the back of a neighbours work van. This was about a year ago. It’s only going to get worse

Tessabelle74 · 14/12/2022 16:17

@chaddydays PanDr is a transfer service between hospitals, NOT a service for general emergencies. Everyone gets the same ambulance from 0-120, the fact that elderly patients are bed blocking is the issue, that unfortunately means everyone suffers. Until they pay carers a decent wage then this is only going to get worse as the community support is dead in the water at this point

Spidey66 · 14/12/2022 16:18

It's shocking-but not the Ambulance Service fault at all. They hate it. This is what years of underfunding has done to the NHS. I totally agree we shouldn't accept 45 minutes for a critically ill baby is not good enough.

I recommend watching last Saturdays Casualty on iPlayer. I know it's fiction, but it concentrated on the paramedics and the pressure they are under and demonstrated perfectly the pressure they're under to perform a service they know is failing.

I do hope your friend's baby is ok xxx

Kinneddar · 14/12/2022 16:19

My friend is wanting to go public with the story but worried about attaching her face to it

Sadly though the way the ambulance service is struggling at the moment I can't imagine a 45 min wait being picked up as an example of bad service. I dont think going public would even be an option unless its on her FB page

Lzzyisgod · 14/12/2022 16:22

Paediatric retrieval teams (as someone said up thread they are known by different names in different areas) are not ambulances per say. They are specialist teams made up of a variety of paediatric consultants/registrars, ACPs, nurses who are usually are based at larger tertiary hospitals and who head out following medical referral to deteriorating patients who need higher level of care than can be offered locally in smaller district general hospitals.

We could write an entire library on why the system is struggling - we've hit a Perfect Storm

BotterMon · 14/12/2022 16:22

@Tessabelle74 Until "they" pay carers a decent wage. Who is they? The companies who are paid a pittance by local authorities to deliver a service akin to that of district nurses bar injections and dressings?

Spidey66 · 14/12/2022 16:23

Bettyboop3 · 14/12/2022 15:52

It is yes, but Saturdays was all about the issue with ambulances, real statistics & facts were given. Somebody actually said pretty much word for word what you did so i just wondered.

Show quote history

Agreed.....Jan said exactly the same thing.

America12 · 14/12/2022 16:24

chaddydays · 14/12/2022 15:23

If hospitals can't discharge patients as there is no social care then they can't take more patients in from ambulances.

If there is no carers to help patients who are elderly and/or disabled in their homes or care homes, then patients cannot safely be discharged from hospital.

But this is paediatrics? So usual issues of nobody at home or available to check on elderly/disabled person doesn't apply here much. It's a Paedatric setting

There aren't separate ambulances for paeds. Our service had 69 calls to attend at 11 o clock last night the manger says 40 of those wouldn't be seen by this morning.

Looneytune253 · 14/12/2022 16:24

We had to call one recently for a family member who had symptoms of s stroke. This was put on the highest priority and still took 30 minutes. It's scary as if you're having a proper stroke (ours was a mini stroke) or a heart attack, 30 mins and you'll be dead. Scary stuff!!

AlwaysFullOfQuestions22 · 14/12/2022 16:28

My ndn fell in his garden. Broke hip and leg. Hit face and fractured cheek bone 87 yrs old. Minus - 2 degrees.
14 HOURS wait!!
Hes very poorly from being so cold.
He had so many blankets hot water bottles etc but there was still cold and damp from the ground

OrlandointheWilderness · 14/12/2022 16:28

I'm a student nurse and I've recently worked with an ACP who was a paramedic. He said if you even need an ambulance you do everything you can possibly do to get yourself there because it is now regular to turn up to cat 1 calls and find people already dead due to the wait time.

Tessabelle74 · 14/12/2022 16:28

@BotterMon the government set the budget for care packages, the local authority try to find care packages within that budget and fail,ost care companies can't get staff to fulfil the contracts anyway. But you also have private care homes charging upwards of 3 grand a week per resident but paying staff minimum wage whilst adhering to government minimum carer numbers which are ridiculously low! Care work has been seen as a poor cousin to nursing for years, and it's about time that it was given the respect it deserves as care is in an even state than nursing is and until it's sorted the knock on effects in hospitals and ambulances won't be sorted. The government needs to step in and ensure that a genuine living wage is implemented then maybe care work will be a realistic option for people because at the moment, £9.70 to do the job isn't cutting it when you can stack shelves in Aldi for £11

NeedAHoliday2021 · 14/12/2022 16:28

in my world I’d not call an ambulance because my car was being repaired. Call one if someone needs emergency care but if the patient needs urgent care that’s not immediately life threatening you get them to hospital in taxi or friend’s car don’t you? That saves ambulances for people not breathing, having strokes, unable to safely be moved. 45 minutes when dc wasn’t in immediate danger (yes very unwell and needing hospital care) seems reasonable.

AriettyHomily · 14/12/2022 16:31

It's been like this for a while. I called an ambulance for DD back in October, croup but with stridor and drooling, we've had enough incidences of croup to know they're the symptoms to get to hospital with ASAP. Was going to be a 4 hour wait minimum, for a child, turning blue with breathing difficulties. I chucked her in the car and prayed that she didn't deteriorate on the journey. Thankfully as soon as we arrived they saw how unwell she was and got her on dexo immediately. Husband called to cancel the ambulance and was on hold for over half an hour just to get through.

NeedAHoliday2021 · 14/12/2022 16:31

I should add that there are some truly outrageous stories but this isn’t one.
The lady who called an ambulance and waited but raised her dh needed care and the ambulance wasn’t there so she bundled him into the car mid heart attack and arrived in our hospital bay with a dead husband. Absolutely shouldn’t have happened. She shouldn’t have been put in that position. It was heartbreaking.

NeedAHoliday2021 · 14/12/2022 16:32

Realised not raised

Rowthe · 14/12/2022 16:33

Georgeskitchen · 14/12/2022 15:43

There is an old chap who lives next door but one to me. An ambulance is called to his house on a regular basis. Each time the ambulance is there for a minimum of 2 hours.
Last year there was a minor RTA at the corner of our road. An ambulance attended along with 2 police vehicles. Both police vehicles and the ambulance were there for 2 hours. In the middle of that 2 hours another ambulance rocked up and was there for an hour.
An elderly man passed away in his sleep during the night. Carer arrived and found him. Rang an ambulance. 10 minutes later there was a first responder car, 2 ambulances and 5 police cars.
So maybe the question needs asking, why????

I remember the olden days when GPs used to do home visits.
Could this be part of the problem?

Yup the GP's should be transporting people to hospital. 🤦🏾‍♀️

If the call is appropriate for an ambulance they need an ambulance, not a GP. And if it isnt they shouldn't be ringing for an ambulance and should be accessing healthcare via the appropriate channels.

Gindrinker43 · 14/12/2022 16:40

Crews at shift change are going straight to hospitals to take over the care of patients in the queue. Some hospitals have seen, treated and discharged patients from ambulances.
The CQC have forced care homes to close and the funding cap means other homes can’t take local authority funded placements. Winter hasn’t even started yet….

antipodeancanary · 14/12/2022 16:45

chaddydays · 14/12/2022 14:56

To take a child with suspected meningitis/sepsis to hospital.

A child (baby!) of 10 months. Rash that won't fade under pressure. High temp and vomiting, light sensitivity

Just awful. My friend from across the road ran to me in desperation as I'm a carer for my son so she knew I'd be in

My bloody car was in for a service and I couldn't help her, couldn't take her. Taxi was going to be same time as ambulance so we booked it and it arrived at same time as the ambulance (we did it to see who's get there first and she'd take that option)

Disgusting. This is what this country has come to. What a disgrace.

2 weeks on and that baby girl still hasn't recovered much and is very unwell. My friend is wanting to go public with the story but worried about attaching her face to it

Although this is not good enough, please don't tell me you are in the least surprised by this. The time for us to be complaining about this is years ago. Its not good enough to only take it seriously when it's our loved one who has died on out kitchen floor.