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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Waiting for ambulance and have missed a call back

69 replies

pompomseverywhere · 19/02/2022 07:33

Posting here for traffic as Google hasn't come up with anything.

Waiting for an ambulance for my mother. She's on the floor after a fall. Ambulance will be 8 hours.

6 hours into the wait I've missed a call back. Will an ambulance still be coming? Should I ring someone? Her neighbours rang twice as they were first to the scene and they were told not to ring back again unless anything changes.

OP posts:
Elsiebear90 · 19/02/2022 14:37

Is she in pain? If she’s not in any pain and just needs helps getting up I would try and get her off the floor if the only other option is to leave her lying there for 8+ hours.

TheDoveFromAboveCooCoo · 19/02/2022 15:15

Really hope you are quiet because you are hospital with your mum.

Wishing her a speedy recovery x

Schmoozer · 19/02/2022 15:20

Oh goodness,
I understand this is fairly standard though for a ‘CAT C’ call I.e. not emergency
Some locations have ‘pick up teams’ where they specifically for picking up the older people who have fallen are stuck on the ground, need a check but no injuries.
The ambulances will be going to higher priority calls and only when there is a space will a cat c call be attended
Often these call backs are just to check if the patient is same / deteriorating as opposed to telling you they are actually on the way
They shouldn't cancel the job due to you not answering
Hope they are with u soon

Original poster
pompomseverywhere · 19/02/2022 16:01

Sorry for the radio silence but not long after I posted the ambulance turned up (or should I say army personnel)!

The original 999 team said definitely no pain relief to be given then when the paramedics did arrive they gave her paracetamol immediately. So in hindsight I would disregard that advice.

She was on the floor for over 8 hours and had weed herself. They suspect a broken hip or femur so definitely glad we did not try to move her as she needed morphine to be moved. The three medics were very apologetic over the wait and were absolutely wonderful.

No idea what's going on at hospital as she has no phone signal and she won't know how to get on their wifi. I'll ring the hospital and update just in case anyone wants to know to complete the story.

OP posts:
Ilikewinter · 19/02/2022 16:10

Oh wow, i wonder if they were ringing to tell you the army would be coming out??.
Hope your mums ok and you get to speak to her soon.

lanthanum · 19/02/2022 16:12

You'd think that if the anticipated wait was 8 hours, then some paracetamol at the start of that period would be unlikely to affect anything later. (When our doctor advised me to take DD to A&E for possible stitches, I asked whether I could give her calpol before we set off, and he said yes, but record how much and what time.)

Porcupineintherough · 19/02/2022 16:17

8 hours is a ridiculous wait.

8 hours was a totally normal wait time even before covid. The truth is there are far to many of these falls for the ambulance service to cope with. My friend's father was falling twice a week for months before a broken leg forced him into a home (he had dementia so kept forgetting to use his walker but had some capacity so refused to move).

IMO what is needed is a specialist falls service that is subsidised by social care and with means tested per use contributions. Its just a hidden social care cost being subsidized by the nhs.

FarFarFarAndAway · 19/02/2022 16:39

I'm sorry your mum had to wait so long. There used to be a fall service round here which would visit for falls, assess the situation, give meds and then get an ambulance out if necessary (which it sounds like it would have been). It was great but then dropped during austerity, not enough money. I've waited on the floor with the person for over four hours and that was bad enough. Hope she is ok now.

Purplewithred · 19/02/2022 16:46

Some areas have ambulance service falls volunteers who can go and help people who have fallen without hurting themselves - but that wouldn’t have helped your mum I’m afraid.

No pain relief is ridiculous too - I have no idea what the justification for that is (ok, so paracetamol would mean they couldn’t give her IV paracetamol within 4 hrs but they could still give entonox and morphine).

Awful, I do hope she is OK.

EatSaidPatriarchy · 19/02/2022 16:55

You can often call the Fire Brigade for a fall as well in some areas.

I hope your mum gets the treatment she needs quickly in hospital and makes a full recovery shortly.

SeekingBalance · 19/02/2022 17:08

I can totally believe this and it's a disgrace. Today I was involved in an accident, the car infront of me collided with a pensioner. 40 mins was the wait time for someone laying in the road at the age of 86, no advice given other than to ring back if he detierated because they had to take another call. Plus, no police to help us with traffic control. At one point a bus drove around us, horrendous.
Hope your mum gets the care she deserves.

Nocutenamesleft · 19/02/2022 17:10

8 hours

My gosh. I was recently on a priority for an ambulance and that was nearly an hour.

Poor paramedics must be on their feet

BonnieBlue88 · 19/02/2022 17:19

She was on the floor for over 8 hours and had weed herself.

It's a disgrace that she had to go through that.

CanofCant · 19/02/2022 17:21

@Porcupineintherough

8 hours is a ridiculous wait.

8 hours was a totally normal wait time even before covid. The truth is there are far to many of these falls for the ambulance service to cope with. My friend's father was falling twice a week for months before a broken leg forced him into a home (he had dementia so kept forgetting to use his walker but had some capacity so refused to move).

IMO what is needed is a specialist falls service that is subsidised by social care and with means tested per use contributions. Its just a hidden social care cost being subsidized by the nhs.

I worked in sheltered housing many years ago and this matches up to my experiences. I would often come to work and find tenants that had fallen the night before and lay on the floor for hours without using their emergency button wristband as they didn't want to cause a fuss. They then had to wait even longer for the ambulance once it was called.

I hope your mum is well and has a speedy recovery OP Flowers

catinboots123 · 19/02/2022 17:23

Oh OP that is shocking. Hope mum is comfortable now and getting the right treatment. Also hope you are okay - tea and chocolate? X

Wheresmywoolyjumpers · 19/02/2022 17:29

Hope you are doing ok OP. And your poor mum.

Mummapenguin20 · 19/02/2022 17:31

Hope your mum is ok

Floralnomad · 19/02/2022 17:35

Absolutely stupid of them to say not to give pain relief if they think it’s going to be a long wait , do they want people to suffer more than necessary . Hope your mum gets well soon @pompomseverywhere

SmellinOfTroy · 19/02/2022 17:38

@BonnieBlue88

She was on the floor for over 8 hours and had weed herself.

It's a disgrace that she had to go through that.

that is so awful
ChristinePerfect · 19/02/2022 17:40

This happened with my dad, four years ago so before COVID. A ten hour wait for an elderly man with a broken hip. Then another wait in A&E. Twenty hours after the accident he was admitted to a ward.
Obviously not the fault of any of the staff.

Hope you and your mum are ok.

cittigirl · 19/02/2022 17:41

Crikey your poor mum to have had to lay absolutely still for 8 hours. That's terrible but we know how stretched services are. I hope she's now comfortable with decent pain relief.

Starwreck · 19/02/2022 17:42

Wishing her a speedy recovery OP and sorry you had to both go through that Flowers. We used to have a falls service here too which was cut which is a real shame, everyone would be reached within an hour absolutely max and care wasn't compromised.

Original poster
pompomseverywhere · 19/02/2022 17:45

@SeekingBalance

I can totally believe this and it's a disgrace. Today I was involved in an accident, the car infront of me collided with a pensioner. 40 mins was the wait time for someone laying in the road at the age of 86, no advice given other than to ring back if he detierated because they had to take another call. Plus, no police to help us with traffic control. At one point a bus drove around us, horrendous. Hope your mum gets the care she deserves.
My eyes are on stalks at this. Hope you are all ok.
OP posts:
HelenaJustina · 19/02/2022 17:47

Hope she makes a swift recovery @pompomseverywhere what a terrifying situation to be in when you couldn’t reach her.

StarMouse879 · 19/02/2022 17:57

Hope you are OK @pompomseverywhere and I hope you get news soon of how she's doing.

I had a 13 hour wait in similar circumstances last year. My dad had also broken his hip and was unable to move. Leaving elderly people lying in such undignified and painful circumstances is just not right. I know there's just not enough staff - and when the paramedics came they were brilliant and patient and apologetic. But we felt so scared and abandoned while we waited.