To wonder if this doesn't upset you, nothing will

[ThirdWorld]

I've name changed for this as it's very identifying.

I live in a small village and and as a treat after a long hard day at work popped into my local pub for dinner.

Lying on the floor was an elderly woman. She was covered with a warm blanket. She had tripped and fallen at lunchtime, and obviously badly hurt herself.

An ambulance was called at 12:30, she is still lying there in the middle of the pub waiting for an ambulance.

I've obviously read about how broken our NHS is and even read the thread on here where a poster had written about her aunt who had fallen and was waiting for about 12 hours for an ambulance. But reading about it and actually seeing it for real is even more heartbreaking.

This poor old woman has been lying on a cold wooden floor for 7 hours! The owners and bar staff have been amazing and are looking after her. Well as much as they can.

I can't tell you how useless I feel. There is nothing anyone can do. The woman has obviously been refusing food or fluid in fear of wetting herself.

I know from reading the thread I mentioned previously that there is nothing anyone can do but wait.

As we left they were getting her a pad to relieve herself. In the middle of a pub!!!

This is 21st century Britain! I don't know what I'm expecting from this thread, am tempted to call the local press to see if the publicity could hurry things along, but that would probably be even more humiliating for her.

This woman has no family and is cold, miserable and in pain lying in the middle of a pub.

I just can't believe our country has fallen to this. God knows when an ambulance will arrive. She will end up getting more dehydrated and probably go into shock. And there is nothing anyone can do.

So distressing to see and my heart bleeds for the poor woman. Just prey that none of your relatives ever have a fall.

Let's hope an ambulance comes soon.

@Soakitup37 I’m so sorry. 💐

This is how we treat our elderly people now. Didn’t you know?
Unfortunately when she gets to hospital, her treatment won’t be what she deserves either.

Oh and if this poor lady ends up in a care home….well, don’t get me started.

I speak from experience. Yes, op it’s VERY upsetting. Poor lady.

It doesn't upset me. It scares and angers me. We live in a country without a functioning ambulance service. Or police service for that matter.

There are loads of personal stories on this thread as well as finger pointing (politics). OP, there IS something you can do and it’s to give and spread love. You can find out: Who is the woman? What’s her name and address? (Obv don’t share that here.) A card or letter in hospital might mean the world to her. Once she gets home one might put up a poster at the pub asking people to sign up to make a meal to be delivered to her. Or donate pub meals for the future. She’ll feel far less alone after hours on the floor knowing there are compassionate people in her village.

You don't have to believe in them. I don't believe in them, it is not a religion.

I'll be happy with competent and not corrupt! If they let me down, I will change tack again.

So sad 😞 Even if you went to the Prime Minister himself, I’m not sure what good it would do. I hope the lady recovers.

Except the Welsh budgets are set by Westminster. I’m not suggesting the Welsh government aren’t mismanaging, but per head Wales has a higher elderly population with more complex health needs.

https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/nhs-wales-badly-run-by-labour-or-underfunded-by-westminster

@findmeonthesunnyside what a great post you have made me tear up.

Some great ideas some of which I will definitely be following up on. You sound a lovey person. Thank you.

There are a lot of reasons for why this happens. It's not all the government's fault. People really do abuse A&E. It ties up the staff, slows down the unloading of ambulances, and delays people getting help in the community.

Who told you the old lady was going to pee on a pad? Whoever was gossiping about her needs a knock on the head.

We had a similar length wait when DM in her 80s fell in church - we were told not to move her despite being on a cold wooden floor and going into shock
after eventually getting her to A and E they discharged her in a sling diagnosed with a broken shoulder - she couldn’t walk well and I struggled to get her out of a wheelchair into my car then out again at home to get her into bed - she was left in agony
4/5 days later I took her back to fracture clinic as requested and insisted they give her a more thorough examination as she was very immobile
Yep she had a broken hip they had missed and needed emergency hip replacement
I felt awful that I had listened to them saying she was fine and made her walk when she was in so much pain

This.

In 2012 I was trying to raise awareness of Tory plans to bring in private insurance and private provision. By then they had already been in talks with American health insurance companies. None of this is any surprise, but when I tried to bri g attention to people were incredulous. And they vote Tory. There is a saying that the people get the leaders they deserve. I prefer to be more generous and say that people are apt to swallow wholesale the 'common sense' or ideology of mainstream media and also to prefer ignorance because "its the softest pillow"

Very sad that the UK is now in such rapid decline that we now have no functional health care service, 1 in 4 children in poverty, pot holes, rubbish and weeds everywhere, thousands if not millions having used food banks, rising homelessness and every second person drugged up on antidepressants.

I had an elderly gentleman who lives on my road (although I didn’t know him but mine was the only house with a light on) knock on my door just before midnight. He was having a stroke, I settled him in my front room, and kept him awake, and sat with him. He couldn’t communicate as it had completely messed with his language. Took well over 4 hours for the ambulance to get here, and the paramedics took him away not long after 5am. Luckily
he was dishcharged several days later much improved and could speak again.

I’m thinking it might be an idea to do some fairly comprehensive first aid training at some point. I have a feeling we’d minimise the impact and possibly avert some tragedies if more of us had a handle on what to do in situations like this.

And they definitely should have closed the pub. What if the lady died there on the floor? Was the plan to just cover her with the blanket and continue to let people stroll past her?

Is she still there OP?

Aww, thanks @ThirdWorld. I read your post and saw how the thread had turned a direction you probably weren’t expecting? One of the best things about compassion (which is what you clearly have) is giving without any knowledge of or expectation. To me, anyhow, it feels amazing. With a tag name like ThirdWorld I bet you feel the same.

Any update on the old lady...??

Unfortunately the first aid training for a stroke is "call an ambulance" because within a couple of hours the damage can be reversible IF they get medical attention. Quite what will happen in these huge waits is anyone's guess. In years gone by if someone in your family has a stroke you knew the outlook was probably very bleak. It's unimaginable that we are returning to those days, but we are.

She's still there. :(

A neighbour is going to look after my kids while I go back and help with some personal care.

Im not shocked my aunty fell around 10pm in lounge, ambulance turned up 6:30am . If your breathing I’m afraid you will have a wait . Same when neighbour fell outside his house , he had to be moved inside eventually by other neighbours as it was cold and raining and was told it was going to be a long wait .
Not much better experience in hospital for my aunty except morphine was given but still a long uncomfortable wait with a broken hip . I just pray they are able to attend a lot quicker to someone not breathing .

Although the ambulance might not be tending to someone worse off, but more likely sitting in an A&E car park with their patient, waiting for a space in the corridor.

It’s so sad she’s still there but it’s so wonderful someone is checking in (you!). She’ll feel much more human being checked up on and given a bit of love. Well done you!!! Not sure how old your kiddos are but these are life lessons for them too, at the right age. X

My mum lay for hours on the floor too. 6 hours. Finally got to a&e, she was on a trolley all night and had to soil herself. A depressing state of affairs.
Sorry for anyone else who has gone through similar.

OP - I have no medical knowledge, but my dad fell and broke his hip and my mum and their neighbour did manage to move him into the car, so my mum could drive him. I know the pain was excruciating, but it's better than being on the floor for 10 hours waiting for an ambulance. Maybe someone can try taking her to A&E?

Unfortunately you must not move people with suspected broken hips, as there's a risk of arterial bleeding.

Ok I didn't know this.

Thankfully it all went well gor my dad and he fully recovered after surgery, but I completely understand that he may have just been extremely lucky.