I know IABU, blatantly using this for traffic. Emergency situation, no ambulance still, and need advice

[TheChinkOfaGlass]

Hi everyone

My Auntie had a fall this morning and has seriously hurt her hip. Luckily she was close enough to the bed to get herself up on it.

999 said it is not an emergency and to contact 111, she was in severe agony and is 78 years old. I rang 111 who after assessing her, decided she did indeed need an ambulance.

I had originally offered to take her to the hospital but she lives on the top floor of a maisonette, and is unable to sit up (so a car journey would be no good and I would be unable to carry her to the car anyway. I did get help but she declined due to the inability to even sit up).

Her husband is disabled so isn't much use (I mean this in the nicest possible way, he is trying his best) other than keeping an eye on her.

So we could be waiting hours for an ambulance but in the meantime she is soaked through on the bed due to urinating on herself. I am going there in the next 30 minutes.

Is it safe to roll her to change the sheets to make her more comfortable? I don't like the idea of her lying in a soaking bed while she waits. I am also scared of causing more pain/damage by moving her. We do not know what's wrong, she thinks it may he her hip. I just don't know what to do. I have never experienced this kind of thing.

Her partner has managed to change her underwear but when the bed is so wet, it wouldn't really make a difference.

OP what a awful thing to happen to your aunt 😢 I have never known this country to be in such a bloody state! The government haven't got a clue and its about time the Royal family were bloody done away with! All the money that is going to be spent on a coronation for a king nobody voted for is bloody immoral when the NHS are on its knees! Please let us know how your aunt is doing🙏❤️

Well said, we have no beds on the wards to bring patients up from A&E. We have no staff and this is exactly what the Government want hoping everyone will turn against the Ambulance staff .

In Victoria a family membership is $100/year, covers air flights etc.

One bill I'm happy to pay.

But Australia has its own issue with ambo ramping, categories etc. It does seem like the UK are a few steps ahead of us in this crisis though. Same with power costs, you guys are copping this all ahead of us but it's coming.

Sorry to derail OP, hang in there.

I'm sorry about your aunt op and I do really hope help arrives soon for her

For those saying call 999 and lie about the severity - I hope none of your relatives die whilst waiting for an ambulance that has been sent to someone who has lied

I've just got home after yet another heartbreaking and depressing 12 hour shift. I spent 20 minutes talking a 12 year old through cpr on his father, when the ambulances arrived, dad was fine just had abdo pain but had been advised of the delays so clearly they thought they'd beat these by pretending he was in cardiac arrest

Not only distressing for me but fucking horrendous for someone who may actually have died whilst that ambulance went to him

@Thekormachameleon That's horrendous that someone would make life threatening symptoms up. What a waste of resources.

I do hope the ambulance came op and that your aunt is now in much less pain and being cared for albeit still in the back of an ambulance or in A&E.

Surely something could be done on an organisational front. Couldn't paramedics do an initial triage in people's homes, provide pain relief and prioritise beyond the algorithm which doesn't appear to be fit for purpose. Surely with morphine, the OP's aunt could have been made comfortable and an ambulance could have got to her this morning.

I really hope they got to you. The NHS has been broken and this is the impact on real people. I have every support for the striking nurses and ambulance crews, people are dying because we can't care for them

That is unforgivable.

I can't imagine how upsetting it is to give a 12 years directions for CPR for their dad. To find it was unnecessary would make me relieved and furious at the same time.

Hope you can manage to get a decent sleep.

I am so angry and upset on your poor aunts behalf! What a bloody sorry state of affairs this country is in 😡

I do hope your aunt is at least at a hospital now and that she is comfortable soon

OP I hope by now your poor auntie is safe and comfortable in hospital.

I feel for her (and you). My partner recently had a serious fracture (ankle in pieces, bone very clearly displaced) and when I called 999 I was told there were no ambulances. No ambulances.
WTF are you supposed to do then?

One did come about 3 hours later but he was in the most awful pain, shivering, sweaty and nauseous, lying awkwardly on the floor. It was scary and stressful and of course you don't know the ambulance is going to come till it turns up.

It's so awful that the elderly are left in pain and unable to move for hours on end. What have we come to when this is normal?

my trust is a different area and we’re in full critical incident mode - I think all trusts in the uk are in crisis

Jesus this is the worst I’ve heard !

the sad thing is, I would say it’s only maybe 1-2 jobs every run of shifts that actually require an ambulance!!!! The job has become very frustrating especially when you hear about people like your aunt who genuinely need one :(

I sometimes feel very demotivated when we are more urgent care than emergency care :(

Maybe we should start charging for an ambulance. Then it would put off people who don’t need one and suddenly they’d find a taxi to hospital would be cheaper. I understand the downsides to that but we have to do something radical.

Good morning. Still no ambulance here. And my mum is also unwell, I asked her what's wrong and she nonchalantly told me the pharmacy didn't have her type 2 diabetes medication a week ago so am having to sort that.

@Bluelightbaby if only one or two ambulances per shift are required then there must be serious problems with the triage end? I have had some experience of that when I fell badly enough to have a displaced wrist fracture and a collapsed vertebra. I had collapsed a vertebrae previously so I did recognise the pain.

The 999 triage calls were dreadful. The situation wasn't helped by the public who were weighing in and gawping as well. One man was drunk and sounded drunk. I didn't realise at the time but because I made a complaint I heard the tapes. It would have been helpful if that had been taken on board because I did not feel safe but was in too much pain/shock to realise it.

There were three calls in two hours and I was outside in the rain. On each call the call handler was clearly ticking boxes and would not listen to anything off box. The real problem was that I was supposed to identify the worst injury I still don't know how as a lay person I could have done that. My wrist was deformed but is that more serious than a broken back. I don't know, how could anyone know that without an XRay machine when the pain from both is equal. Because of that the handlers would not take my word for the fact that I could not get into a private car although the hospital wasn't far away. There is no way I could have manoeuvred myself into a car with one hand. Matters were not helped due to two people who said they were physios getting a chair from a local.shop and lifting me into it. If that hadn't happened I'd have been category two rather than category three.

I did not make the first two calls. Members of the public did and handed the phone to me. After about an hour as the shock wore off and the pain ramped up I made the third call because I needed more control over the situation.

The unhelpfulness and patronising tone of the call handlers was very concerning. They would not listen, apply what they were told and do anything off sheet. One even snapped that saying please wouldn't bring an ambulance any faster. They repeatedly asked why I couldn't get into a car using my good hand. They refused point blank take on board that my back was also broken despite being told ad nauseum - because they can't deal with two conditions. I was told twice a clinician would call me to decide if an ambulance was necessary but not before I was told to take paracetamol or ibuprofen after I had got advice from a pharmacist. I asked how I could do that and was told to use my phone to Google and phone them!

Eventually a clinician phoned and asked all the same questions, including asking why I couldn't get into a car with a broken wrist. The clinician then got arsy when I explained again that I thought I also had a broken back. She agreed to send me, in her words, a free ambulance.

The ambulance took two hours and the crew were fabulous. The call handling left a great deal to be desired. As soon as the ambulance arrived my arm was put in a blow up splint and I was given morphine. The crew thought my wrist needed surgery and that I needed an ambulance. I could not walk into the hospital. My situation was completely minimised by call handlers and I do not believe the way calls are handled is safe.

If I were in the same situation again, I would call the police to help me vis a vis the public. My husband was over an hour away but came ASAP.

I had surgery two days later but got home in-between. My T12 had also collapsed. My complaint to the ambulance service was fully upheld and a senior manager agreed that three handlers had been inadequate.

Why isn't the triage and call handling not being addressed.

Hello! I was worried but didn't want to keep posting.

did auntie get any sleep? The GP might be open now, is that worth a go for pain relief?

So it’s been 24 hours?

This is terrible! What a state the NHS is in. I hope one comes soon.

This is a tough read. I know the ambulance service is stretched atm but 24 hours? I hope your aunt gets treated soon. @PostMenPatWithACat What an appalling experience.

I was worried that regular meds would be missed due to current crisis .Been there ,got the T shirt .

And yes ,pharmacies now seem to have difficulty keeping a supply of common but vital drugs .(another thread I think).

OP you're doing so well ,I hope you are also looking after your own needs .

I can't believe what I'm reading. This is beyond appalling.

She didn't sleep great and is understandably ratty this morning.

2 technicians are apparently being sent to help with toilet situation but I have explained she can't be moved so who knows.

And yes, 24 hours now

Just checked our trust no change in the critical incident status. Welsh government resolutely silent on this. I wonder if the army will be utilised now

I'm glad the technicians are coming. Perhaps they will report back and things will be taken more.seriously.

In the meantime please:
Phone your GP; and
Email your MP. Their office staff will be picking up messages and emails are triage and escalated. You may be surprised what a call from the local MP's office initiates.

What a horrendous situation for you and your family. I hope there is a solution soon.