To ask advice as my parents have been waiting for three hours for an ambulance

[haveyourselfamerry]

They are 500 miles away in Bournemouth. Dad is 80 and frail with poor visual processing and probable autism.
A little over three hours ago dad fell in the sitting room. Mum got him into a propped up position. It hurts behind his left hip.
The history is that he fell last February and broke his hip. He was stuck in hospital waiting for a fictitious rehab place for 10 weeks, as a result of which his gait has permanently altered.
They are hoping this is not another break as it feels less bad than last time.
Obviously though they are getting increasingly uncomfortable and distressed.
He will fall asleep soon. Mum is wondering if she can get him lying down. She is too fail to stop him dropping off/sliding over.
Thanks in advance :(
Old age s not for sissies.

Neck Of Femur fracture.

Niffler I think Frankie was saying that she exercised professional judgment in this particular case. Or "professional instinct". Not general advice to lie.

Increase tax on alcohol and divert to NHS. Blair introduced PCTs a huge additional layer of bureaucracy in 1998? and extended opening hours in 2003.

Some of it is funding but the funding crises stem largely from pfi, some is cultural (drinking and part time doctors), some of it is mismanagement and failures of parts of the service to meet the needs of patients flexibly, much can be laid at the door of GPs who no longer provide on call services as family doctors who know their patients.

Harridan, I may go down tomorrow, will see what tonight brings. Her mobile has packed up!

Tell your mum to call the ambulance back and tell them he is having breathing difficulties and they will prioritise get to him quicker.
I used to work for sn emergency response call centre.

It's irrelevant, she has no knowledge of what other emergencies are waiting.

Fractured neck of femur (hip), haveyourself

Bournemouth is becoming the main hospital. They are trying to close Poole a ans e . As he gone in my ambulance he will hopefully get a bed to lie in. I hope your mum has gone in with him as he won't be care for much . It Saturday night and bournemouth will be busybut it is January and students are just coming back so it might be quieter. Expect at least 4 hour before seeing a dr when he gets log which takes about a hour . Hopefully your mum has taken money cos they also have form for discharge at middle of night if you are ok .
The nearest hotel to hospital is the village or travelogue.

It's terrible.

I used to be a First Responder but stopped because papering over the cracks with volunteers is not the right way to deal with shortages in the ambulance services.

Whereas at the beginning we were sent to genuine red 1 calls, we were soon being sent to non emergency calls where they needed to stop the clock by just someone arriving. Sometimes I'd just be waiting for an ambulance when there was nothing I could do, just making small talk with someone with 'breathing problems' until there was an ambulance clear to attend.

I was on holiday in the UK last year and an elderly man fell over outside one evening. He didn't think he'd broken anything but was badly shaken up. I phoned an ambulance and was advised not to move him. The poor man ended up lying on the pavement for more than an hour in the dark with a blanket over him that someone had brought out for him.

I hope your dad gets seen to.

That means fractured neck of femur op I' sorry your parents are going through this.

This is a direct result of Tory Government cuts, I'm an NHS nurse and agree its never been this bad before.

I know people who have send home with broken hips even after ex rays.

Thanks. I will update later but need to update my brothers, think about arranging work, etc.

I've worked in the NHS for over 30 years. I have never ever seen things so desperate. It's chronically underfunded and a disgrace.

The intention is to force people to go elsewhere for healthcare. That's all very well (and correct) if we're talking calpol... or self help remedies but what you have is people like the OP's parents in shocking situations.

Please if you can, campaign, lobby your MP. There is one single reason why the NHS is failing. Let's not muddy the water by searching for excuses, staffing failing, drug company profits etc.....it's basic funding. Whilst we need to be efficient you reach a point of collapse of the system. We've reached it.

I was told this week that we must deliver a sub standard service if the Trust is to break even. They acknowledge this and were giving departmental and ward managers "permission" and "support" to do so.

The managers response is not to smile and go "ok fine". These are clinical managers with patient contact. You can't look patients in the eye and say I plan to offer sub standard service because we have a budget to keep to. It's desperate being in that situation from both sides.

If you can afford to pay privately you'll be fine.
We now have a two tier service.

"The managers response is not to smile and go "ok fine". These are clinical managers with patient contact. You can't look patients in the eye and say I plan to offer sub standard service because we have a budget to keep to. It's desperate being in that situation from both sides."

I think they have to man up and say just that. Last spring we were kept hanging on for a "rehab place" which clearly did not exist for 9 immobile weeks, with predictable results.

this time make sure that the rehabilitation medicine consultant in poole general is asked to come and see the patient as an inpatient (with yourself present if possible)

Cold feet. The private sector have no emergency service so everyone is reliant on an emergency service at the point of delivery such as it is. Op I would plan to visit...your mother will need a hug a cup of tea and to put her feet up especially if your father is sent home. They need to investigate a low level respite care package that will suit them and give you piece of mind.

A relative works in transport at nhs. Even the non emergency is horrendous and the contractors are not fulfilling their obligations to patients. It is a mess.

Hope your dad is ok ,OP.

I agree haveyourself.

My difficulty coldfeet is that that is exactly what the midwives said 22 years ago when ds and I received sub standard care. They blamed it on the Tories then too. For 14 of the last 22 years we had a labour government; for five a con/lib dem coalition. What is happening now isn't because of what has happened in just under two years; it has its roots in 1947 and the introduction of a universal scheme doomed to fail, argued against hugely by doctors who only agreed because they were paid to stop arguing against it.

The model is what doesn't work. Happy to pay more but I'd expect significantly higher standards of customer care.

I hope your parents get through the night ok and you get here to support them.

Here's hoping the paramedics are right.

Hopefully they'll send them home, in a taxi, later on tonight and he can rest up at home.

Fbthe bathroom is upstairs, maybe the neighbour can help him upstairs and he'll have to stay up there until he's a lot better.

It's a worry when you're not nearby. Though at least you're just a few hours away, my mum is the other side of the world :/

I've not read the whole tread and is bad as this sounds do not get him moved if he is hurt it could be made worse. If his prone to falls does he have a life line if so I would ring that and get them to chase the ambulance up.

I don't know if it is funding cuts or just increased demand due to the aging population. Trouble is as a higher percentage of the population is retired now that also means less income tax being collected.

I do think the system is wrong and there are lots of inefficiencies. Consultants seem to be treated like gods who refuse to be managed. They are each in charge of their own little worlds with no one taking the wider view.

So sorry to hear about your dad OP. The whole NHS is struggling badly and while the ambulance crew were lovely when we needed them recently, they were also very exasperated at the lack of funding and resources to help people in need. At this time of year a large proportion of call-outs are drink related.

My mum (and us) waited 6 hours for an ambulance two weeks ago after she had a fall. We were told not to move her from the tiled bathroom floor. Even though the heating was on, mum was getting colder and colder. She is 87 and is now back home after spending a week in hospital. However, she was discharged far too early - she cannot stand or walk and is relying on carers four times a day (for 15 minutes at a time). It has been a nightmare. I am only a half hour away but work full time. We do think now is the time to consider the various options with regard to her care and living arrangements, but she is adamant she wants to stay in her own home.