5 hour wait for ambulance... 94yr old man.

So how come the waiting times over the border in Shropshire (where DH eventually had his op) were 3 months growstuff?

They charged for car parking each time I visited and the scripts he was issued on release I paid for (willingly).

We need to stop thinking one party is perfect and has all the answers - the Welsh nhs under Labour, as a whole, is in a worse state than the English nhs under the Tories, and politically biased people need to acknowledge that.

You have my condolences, but how did you know the crew was in a warm ambulance, if you weren't there?

My own experience of ambulance crews has been 100% positive, so I hope you reported the lack of professionalism.

My point was that NHS wasn't responsible for the delay in responding to the 999 call.

Growstuff
No one should have been treated that cruel way - no matter what medical organisation - that was my point.
I am still trying to deal with losing him and the way he was treated.
Let’s hope you or your loved ones don’t suffer as he did …. Please - have some compassion ..

I agree that it was unacceptable, but the NHS wasn't responsible.

Imposs

Growstuff

You seemed to have missed the point!

Which is?

I doubt very much if parking fees and prescription charges would cover the cost of a hip operation.

Growstuff

You seemed to have missed the point!

Apologies to Casdon ?‍♀️

My point was Callistemon is that Labour in Wales prefer to fund free parking and scripts at the cost of operations!

I’d rather have paid for parking and all DH’s scripts (8 items per month) for the 3 years he was in huge pain awaiting his hip operation.

It doesn’t really matter what size the pot awarded from Westminster (under any government) if it’s then misspent and/ or mismanaged.

Labour in wales have had almost 25 years to improve the health service here and things have worsened IMO as can be seen from my previous post re ambulance timings.

I just googled and this came up..

No, private health insurance in the UK doesn’t include emergency care cover. If you’re researching medical insurance, you might find the phrase ‘it compliments the NHS but doesn’t replace it’.

Although private health insurance is very useful and can help you get some operations and treatment more quickly, it doesn’t completely replace the NHS, which will always be your first port of call in an emergency.

Imposs

My terminally ill. husband was left in the back of a freezing cold ambulance ALONE for hours in winter whilst crew sat in a warm ambulance with their colleagues ! This was after making him walk to the ambulance - terminally ill. and barely able to walk! They refused to allow me to go with him. I cried!
He rang me later begging me to collect him which I did
A few days before my husband died I rang 999 only to get a recorded message to say that they were busy!
The caring NHS!

The 999 service is owned by Motorola, not the NHS.

MissAdventure

So if you have a medical emergency, you phone for a private ambulance and sort out payment options alongside performing cpr or stemming a massive bleed?

I wouldn't try it, if I were you.

My terminally ill. husband was left in the back of a freezing cold ambulance ALONE for hours in winter whilst crew sat in a warm ambulance with their colleagues ! This was after making him walk to the ambulance - terminally ill. and barely able to walk! They refused to allow me to go with him. I cried!
He rang me later begging me to collect him which I did
A few days before my husband died I rang 999 only to get a recorded message to say that they were busy!
The caring NHS!

So if you have a medical emergency, you phone for a private ambulance and sort out payment options alongside performing cpr or stemming a massive bleed?

Four years ago my Dad had walked into his GP surgery. His pulse was very low and he needed to go straight to hospital. An ambulance would have been a four hour wait so I told him to get a taxi, which he did. He was admitted for surgery.

I waited all night for an ambulance for my mother after she had a fall and it never came. Eventually, friends from the Fire Service lifted her into bed. The District Nurse checked her over for injuries, got the Surgery to sanction blood tests to check why she fell and eventually after she fell again we did get an ambulance within a reasonable time.

growstuff

The problem doesn't just concern ambulances but A&E departments which can't receive enough patients quickly enough.

... that is the problem!

So many hospitals have patients waiting outside in ambulances because there are not enough staff - or beds - in A&E.

Callistemon21

^That's the one that covers my area- Gloucestershire. When I called, I was warned it could take many hours^
I was advised to go to Gloucester or even Southmead instead but they would probably have sent me back over the border!

... Gloucester? The Royal Gloucestershire Hospital had 14 ambulances waiting outside it back in May - I was in one of them, overnight. The medical staff were wheeling me in for scans etc, and then back into the ambulance.

... with the added drama of a man roaming around wielding a knife who'd already attacked one of the crew, so we were all locked inside the ambulances for safety. I don't know if he was a disgruntled patient or had mental health issues - or both. And let's not even talk about mental health services...

Things are bad, very bad - and I don't know what's being done to address the issues.

I remember those famous words, "I warn you not to get old, not to get sick.... etc"

The problem doesn't just concern ambulances but A&E departments which can't receive enough patients quickly enough.

Pantglas2

Callistemon21

It's Labour here in Wales, but of course funds come from Westminster.

Methinks you’re being disingenuous Casdon.

Of course it’s Labour in Wales and has been for decades and importantly, they get to decide how the pot is spent.

Which is why we all have free scripts ( yes for paracetamol) and free parking at all hospitals and waiting lists for hip ops in north Wales of 3 years in 2019 - Lord only knows how long it is now but of course they can now blame Brexit and Covid!

Anecdotally, my father waited 20 minutes in 1995 for an ambulance, my stepmother waited 90 minutes in 2012.

In April my aunt had to be taken to A&E in Bangor by my cousin as she was told it would be 6 hours for an ambulance and she wasn’t a priority although she was losing blood from the rectum ( she died 10 days later)

I’ll say it again, if the Tories can be blamed for English nhs debacles, then Labour in Wales can be held to the same yardstick.

But it's likely to be the result of overall funding and training, which is ultimately controlled by Westminster.

I’ll say it again, if the Tories can be blamed for English nhs debacles, then Labour in Wales can be held to the same yardstick.

I won't disagree, Pantglas but wondered if it made any difference in how funds are allocated. It does all seem to be rather chaotic in this particular area.
Another friend told us he'd been on the waiting list for a new knee for 4 years (Cardiff).

Message deleted as it quotes a withdrawn post.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Methinks you’re being disingenuous Casdon
It was me, not Casdon!
I can't let her take the rap

It is a sad fact but you would be more likely to get an ambulance within 10 minutes if your name was Gloria Hunniford for Boris J as opposed to Jane or John Doe.

The 4 hour wait of a celebrity would make front page news whereas Jane or John Doe would rarely make the headlines.

A private ambulance would be unlikely to pick up a casualty and take to an NHS hospital; private hospitals do not take emergencies.

Callistemon21

It's Labour here in Wales, but of course funds come from Westminster.

Methinks you’re being disingenuous Casdon.

Of course it’s Labour in Wales and has been for decades and importantly, they get to decide how the pot is spent.

Which is why we all have free scripts ( yes for paracetamol) and free parking at all hospitals and waiting lists for hip ops in north Wales of 3 years in 2019 - Lord only knows how long it is now but of course they can now blame Brexit and Covid!

Anecdotally, my father waited 20 minutes in 1995 for an ambulance, my stepmother waited 90 minutes in 2012.

In April my aunt had to be taken to A&E in Bangor by my cousin as she was told it would be 6 hours for an ambulance and she wasn’t a priority although she was losing blood from the rectum ( she died 10 days later)

I’ll say it again, if the Tories can be blamed for English nhs debacles, then Labour in Wales can be held to the same yardstick.