What's the longest you have had to wait for an ambulance?7

[OneUmberJoker]

7 hours

30 minutes. If it s going to be longer than that I just drive the person to hospital myself instead.

20 mins with a child having an active seizure. It was horrific because we couldn't drive him.

Normally less than 5 minutes.

Some years ago now, 7 hours.

Why couldn't you take alternative transport?

In my case, it was an elderly person who had fallen and possibly fractured his hip, so he couldn't be moved.

Never had to thankfully. Both myself and my parents live less than eight miles from our respective local A&Es, so we'd probably look to drive/get a taxi instead if possible.

My DMum was told the wait was 12 hours a few months ago. I was there waiting with her, thankfully they then phoned and triaged and made her a priority and it was only a few hours in the end. She had broken her hip and there was no way we could have got her downstairs.

A few years ago we waited three hours then were told it would be longer so 5 of us managed to get the casualty in the car, typically just as the ambulance turned up. They said to take him in the car as it would be too painful to move him again.

12 hours & 10 hours, so both times the person had to be woken up after the ambulance had been called in daylight.

About five hours when my mum fell and broke her hip

1 hour 50 minutes for a high priority blue light ambulance for an unconscious adult male with difficulty breathing who I couldn’t move myself. It was horrific.

4 hours at home, then another 5 hours in the ambulance once we got to hospital. I had cauda equina and couldn't walk, let alone get in the car. Had to have emergency surgery the next day to prevent paralysis.

25 hours last Nov. The 999 team rang us back every 4 hours to say they hadn't forgotten about us and to check DH wasn't deteriorating further.

No, I couldn't put him in the car or a taxi and drive him to A&E. He was immovable. He suffered life changing injuries as a result of the delay.

Five hours. My mum had unknowingly broken her hip and got stuck at the bottom of the stairs. I couldn’t move her as it was agony for her.

I live on the outskirts of London/Essex. Once called 999 and it was the North West ambulance service who answered, there weren’t even people to answer the phones locally, and said ambulances would be up to 12 hours.

Thankfully DC recovered in the time we were waiting.

Four hours but my ex drove me in the end. Now that was weird 🙂

My mum had a brain aneurysm and lay on the floor, with my terrified dad afraid to move her, for almost three hours. She died six days later. She was a fit 71 year old.

The delay was because some drunk was blathering on about killing himself because his girlfriend had finally had enough of his idiocy. He didn’t try, but he was so abusive, it took two ambulances to attend to him.

I wish he knew the pain he caused that night. He was still kicking off in A&E- there was fuck all wrong with him except drink and a temper.

I've never needed one myself but I've rang for other people. One took about 15 minutes and the other about 7 minutes.

A relative needed one pretty recently and it was about 20 minutes (not bleeding or breathing related so not highest priority).

15 minutes but I was having chest pains and have had a heart attack in the past.

About 20 mins. My friend called them for me. I believe they came quickly on the basis i was looking after my preschooler and 5 month old and my DH was a couple of hours away.

4 hours, old lady fell and cut her ankle very badly, her medication meant she was bleeding a lot. I had put a dressing on and another on top, and a third and it was soaking through. I had to alternate with someone else applying pressure as we got tired. We couldnt lift her to transport her ourself.

About 20 mins when in labour with DS1. He was then born in said ambulance.

About 10 mins when my dad had a heart attack. Straight in an ambulance with an additional team member, to a port, onto a waiting hovercraft (commercial ferry, they're also used in emergencies to very used to it) with said crew, into a waiting ambulance on the other side and into the theatre on the mainland within the hour. Amazing.

Not me, my elderly mum waited 14 hours after a fall. They sent the medic twice but they couldn't take her to hospital. She ended up in for a week, she had covid it turned out and was very unwell..
This wasn't during the pandemic, it was about a year ago.
At least she was at home, I know of a couple of cases where an elderly person had fallen on ice and waited hours in the freezing cold.

They do have to prioritise
When my then 16 year old son collapsed at home thankfully they were there in minutes he was in DKA we didn't know he was Diabetic and they saved his life.

About 30 minutes for 3yo with laboured breathing (111. I could have driven him myself and would have done if it wasn't so quick)

My Dad collapsed yesterday at home (fully unconscious, stertorous breathing), and an ambulance arrived within 10 minutes. Rural Norfolk! He was very lucky I think - heart patient. He didn't wake up until he was in A&E.