On hold to ambulance

[AlizeeEasy]

Earlier this evening I had to call for an ambulance, I was shocked to be put on hold for a few minutes. I’ve never had to call them before so I don’t know if this is somewhat the norm, especially for a Saturday evening. Does this seem like it should be the case?

For context I had initially called for the police as I thought the matter was more appropriate for them and they answered immediately but told me to hang up and call back for the ambulance.

I have such a deep respect for the emergency services, so this isn’t a critique of them, just of the apparent lack of resources to cover busier periods.

The NHS is on its knees.

It always surprises me that people are shocked by posts like this. NHS staff literally said this would happen under a Tory government and now it has.

People get what they vote for.

@NCFT0922

I have no friends or family who can come take me to hospital . I don't mean I don't have friends or family who can't or won't drive me to hospital I mean I have no friends or family and I am unable to use public transport.

I cannot afford the £24 plus to take me to hospital and then another £24 plus to get me home again if I am not admitted (if I admitted hospital transport is arranged after discharged).

It happens more than you think.

My falls alarm was activated last weekend and it called their own control centre;who then called an ambulance.
From what they told me the ambulance arrived within 8 minutes of my falls alarm been activated.

The paramedics were here looking after me for 45 minutes trying to help/stabilise me before being advised by their supervisor to call their emergency first responder paramedic and doctor on board. They were here within 5-minutes. These 2 women and two men saved my life.

The longest time I had to wait for the ambulance was 11.5 hours and it was terrifying. I couldn't breathe properly was in horrendous pain; I had no one to call call. So was alone.

I told the paramedic when he arrived that I was about to commit suicide (genuinely). This wasn't a cry for help this was because I could not stand the pain of or isolation aymore

@NCFT0922 Can you imagine being in so much fear in 11.5 hours by yourself where you feel so ill and in pain?

I was listening to the meditation tapes over and over again to take my mind off the pain. I don't think I've ever cried so much.

@NCFT0922 you must be in a privileged position if you cannot imagine someone being so isolated they have no friends or family to call in an
emergency

The idea of being put on hold before even being triaged is awful.
I had to call an ambulance last year as someone was choking. I was doing the Heimlich maneuver but it wasn't shifting. Fortunately they answered straight away and we actually dislodged it before the ambulance arrived so could cancel it but obviously you don't have much time if someone is choking and I can't imagine how panicked I would have felt of I thought there was nobody who could help.
The whole NHS system is totally backed up, social care needs sorting asap to help with movement in the system and it obviously needs more funding in all areas.

A pp saying to get there yourself, mum was being stabilised by paramedics for a couple of hours before they moved her.

if I had tried myself, I'd have had no way to get her in a cab as she effectively couldn't move. Assuming two burly neighbours might have been willing to assist,
the cabbie would refuse to take her surely?

I remember a horrible night in an ambulance in 2017. I was with a family member who’d developed pneumonia - alongside the terminal cancer. The ambulance took a couple of hours to get to us, the paramedics were brilliant, but there was nowhere to go in the hospital. We were in the ambulance bay for around 9 hours before a trolley in the admitting section became free. That was eye-opening too, during the time we were there, a very distraught young man barricaded himself in one of the offices, and staff had to spend a significant amount of time getting to him to restrain and sedate him. My very ill family member just rolled her eyes and wheezed ‘well, you can’t say it’s dull here!’

This is so sad.the lack of help,training or proper support for those suffering with mental illness is disgusting.

Had this just last night. Relative collapsed to the floor.we had no strength or way to lift and get him safely or without risking him more harm.
ambulance said they wouldn’t be able to come for hours. So innocuous relative was stuck on the hall floor.it’s pot tiling and freezing.we tried to get pillows blankets and quilt.and a few hospital weebottles.
it looked awful and we just ended up crying at the state of him.he looked so frail.
bloods are now off and he’s completely traumatised and blood pressure through the floor. There is no way that night on the floor like that didn’t effect him.
Or us.

I do not believe that she was told there was no Ambulances available for a Cardiac Arrest, they are automatically a Cat 1 call and an ambulance will be diverted direct tiha job. They get priority always.

how naive of you

DH spent yesterday's shifts doing patient transfers too, he's a senior paramedic.. a friends grandma had a fall and instead they phoned him to see if he could help as the ambulance had said 4 hours which DH said is more like 10 at the moment.

He's had enough and is leaving in 3 weeks

You need to wake up!

Surely somebody else could've taken you within 9 hours??

You do realise that if a vehicle says 'Private Ambulance' on it, it means it is for transporting dead bodies to funeral homes from where they've passed 🤦🏼‍♀️

Yea but that's just not possible these days unfortunately

I really do sympathise but surely him leaving is only going to make the problem even worse?

I work in a hospital. Yesterday I was part of a team who treated a man having a heart attack. Once he was in recovery. He told me he'd rang for an ambulance with chest pain. He was told the ambulance would be an hour and a half. So he rang his wife and she brought him to hospital. This will increase the mortality and morbidity rate for many treatable conditions.

@NANAitsathemtheytheir I'm really sorry you went through that.

I had to call the police a few weeks ago. And was on hold for ages. It really threw me.

My mum fell and broke her hip several years ago, pre covid, she was outside on the ground, thankfully it was a dry day and she fell outside a nursing home who kindly gave her a pillow and blankets. She was in too much pain to move. Took 2 hours for an ambulance to come.

Unless you need the service, people have no idea the pressure the system is under. Vote for the nurses, paramedics, junior doctors , the Torys are running it into the ground at runaway train speed !!!

We had to call an ambulance for our 1 year old son last month - he had difficulty breathing. Like the OP we were put on hold before we even got to speak to an operator.

The most scary few minutes of my life! We were classed as CAT1 and still waited just over 30 mins - which I know in the grand scheme of things is not a long time to wait but my son was struggling to breathe and we were absolutely terrified and helpless.

So so sad the way things are going. Can’t fault the lovely crew who arrived though.

luckily all was well but I am so scared in case we ever need it again and then to read that there are some people calling an ambulance with regular back pain, just wish there was a way these types of calls could be policed and people educated about calling an ambulance when it’s not needed.

I drive and was considering taking my son to the hospital myself but it’s a good 40 min drive and with no medical assistance it’s a scary thought.

The year before covid, My mum in law had chest pains and the ambulance operator said there was a long wait and they don’t live far so her son drove her quickly instead. She was having a heart attack it turned out but had great treatment including transfer for a procedure to another hospital that night.

Happened to me when then 8mo DS couldn’t be roused. Felt like the longest wait in the world being on hold. He was put onto cat 2 (emergency) list instead of cat 1 as he was still breathing. Target is 18 minutes so I assumed it may take 30 minutes or so. It took 90. By which point he needed to be blue lighted to hospital. I thought he was going to die.

@Seashellsrule massive hugs, we’re also 50 minutes away and with a baby that is unwell squeezing them into a car seat was unthinkable. (I posted above).

I get depressed and stressed entering and leaving work these days when I see the queues of ambulances waiting to pass over care of their patients.

Sometimes (thanks to the regular old thread posting trolls..) one will pop up and can see people getting 'advice' so they can get an ambulance to hospital rather than make own way 'oh say breathing/heart pain'. Thankfully not seen one like that in some time. But agree with pp above that their is still people who abuse ambulance and hospital services.