97 Yr old Gran waiting 8 hours for an ambulance with a broken hip!

[LoveCherryTree]

My Gran, 97 years of age, given to this country in World War, paid her taxes and NI all her life. She fell today in her home at 12pm, she has a broken hip, my Father called 999 and it is now 8pm and still no ambulance.
She can’t go to the loo as she can’t get up, my Father who has Parkinson’s and my Uncle, who has throat cancer, both in their 70’s, sitting with her.
This country is broken beyond repair, I even tried to get a private ambulance and they said that it won’t make a difference because all the front line ambulances are sat at the hospital with patients inside because they can’t get them into the hospitals….I despair, so it’s better for my 97 year old Gran to be in agony and wet herself, I just can’t believe it! Anyone know a member of parliament I can talk to about this? I’m utterly disgusted!

I have read the research, I've worked with various healthcare systems and I've experienced different healthcare systems.

The current UK market is irrelevant as its not set up or designed to provide universal coverage. You don't seem to understand how statebacked insurance models work.

My 92 year old Dad was 15 hours earlier this year. Fractured femur. Then some hours in the ambulance, then the corridor. Moved around 3 times in the following day. No locker. Eventually discharged after 3 weeks with no warning. I live over 200 miles away away. He had no clothes, no coat, no key and was in his slippers and PJs. No food in the house and no heating on. February.

@C8H10N4O2 I do understand them.
My comment about private health insurance in the UK was in response to someone else's comment saying people in the UK can choose to have private health insurance at the moment. I am not stupid. I do know how state backed private health insurance schemes work elsewhere.

Utterly disgusting!

I hope she gets better soon

How lovely you are! She is actually very capable and lives on her own and still does her own shopping, she's amazing, but thank you for such a lovely remark, I wish there were more people like you in the world!

@jolies1 that's one reason my 85 year old FIL is moving 180 miles to be closer to us but also in a town with a moderate sized community hospital , walk in injuries unit and modern GP medical centre all on one site, 3 minutes walk away from his bungalow - big ( and not too bad) A&E is 11 miles

That isn't really fair. The Welsh Government chose to give more money to social care which meant for a long time social care wasn't in such dire straits in Wales as it was in England.

Also need to take into account demographic differences - Wales has an older, poorer and less healthy population than England.

https://www.nhsconfed.org/articles/can-we-make-direct-comparisons-between-nhs-england-and-wales

https://ifs.org.uk/articles/health-spending-protected-more-england-social-services-spending-protected-more-wales

https://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/news-item/how-much-social-care-does-each-country-fund-draft#:~:text=As%20of%202021%2C%20England%20remains,%C2%A3550%20in%20Northern%20Ireland.

@Jaboodyv2 how the hell did you work that out? What a horrible thing to say? Has no one under 90 ever broken a leg?

Only if the crew includes a paramedic - most do, but not all, in which case they will only be able to give gas and air, tablet paracetamol or whatever their trust allows them to give.

This comment is why I am against assisted dying. There are a lot of people sadly who see nothing wrong with elderly people being killed off a few years early.

Well said.

@Jaboodyv2 who are you to decide what quality of life is worth living? Perhaps we should introduce assisted dying for ignorant idiots

@LoveCherryTree poor woman! having to spend 14 hours waiting for assistance is ridiculous!!

The OP has already made it clear that her granny has a good quality of life.

My late husband had a fall following an untreated UTI during lockdown. Ironically, the fall happened the day we were finally able to get a GP visit. (We'd waited a week.)

His situation was very similar to the OP's granny. The local fall team couldn't move him because he'd skinned his leg in the fall and their protocol dictated that they couldn't move someone who was bleeding, so I had to phone for an ambulance. It was well over 8 hrs before the ambulance came and (according to the GP who kept phoning the control centre to try to hurry them up) lying on the floor for more than 8 hrs was endangering his kidneys.

When he was finally admitted to hospital, he was diagnosed with an acute kidney injury. He recovered from that and got home a month later. Unfortunately, part of the treatment for the kidney injury involved taking him off two of his heart meds. He died of a massive heart attack 3 months later.

He did have mobility problems which were exacerbated by his hospital stay and was exercising at home to overcome this. I can assure you that in spite of his challenges, he enjoyed living and he fought that heart attack.

Too many people now seem to be prepared to write off those who are old and/or disabled. I fear for what is happening to this country.

I left work today and there was at least 7 or 8 ambulances parked up outside a&e and it’s not even busy!

Our NHS isn’t even on its knees anymore, its face palmed into the deck. There is no beds or staff. The government (and it really doesn’t matter which party you want to blame!) have slowly and steadily ran it into the ground for years.

The NHS provides a totally shit service now, in every way. It’s appalling. Hopefully, the government can change things, but I’m not holding my breath. No matter his much money thrown at it, it never seems to improve. 😠

We spend less money on healthcare than comparable countries.
Spend peanuts, this is what you get.

Average day-to-day health spending in the UK between 2010 and 2019 was £3,005 per person – 18% below the EU14 average of £3,655.

How does UK health spending compare across Europe over the past decade? - The Health Foundation

We come 19th in health spend per capita. Spain spends less than us, but expects relatives to provide the social care for people in hospital. The work HCAs do in the UK. This unpaid labour is not included.

Health Care Costs by Country 2024

Thanks for the update, OP. I've been thinking after your granny all day. Hope she males a full recovery.