LOCAL people have raised concerns about the time they are having to wait for an ambulance.
Ambulance staff have been praised for their professionalism, but the service admits that they have been under pressure for several months, as ambulances queue up at hospitals, waiting to handover patients. The service has faced more pressure this week, due to the extreme temperatures during the heatwave.
Calls to the service are categorised on urgency needed, but one Melksham family have described the ‘panic’, ‘fear’ and ‘helplessness’ they experienced as they waited over one hour for an ambulance to arrive whilst the patient became unconscious.
Another Melksham woman, who was 90 at the time of her accident, has shared her experience of waiting four hours for an ambulance after a fall in the town centre.
72 minutes
It took a total of 72 minutes for an ambulance to arrive to assist local man, Nick Westbrook, who had become ill when out in the town centre. At the time of the first call made to the emergency services, Nick’s condition was classed as ‘Category 2’, which has a target response time of 18 minutes.
His wife Adrienne told Melksham News, “When we first called for an ambulance, Nick was feeling dizzy and couldn’t stand up. But as time went by, he deteriorated and became unconscious.
“The horrible thing was watching him getting worse and worse. There were so many feelings; feelings of panic, fear, helplessness – there is nothing you can do until that ambulance arrives. It was a long time to be in that state of worry.”
As Nick’s condition deteriorated, a second phone call was made to the emergency services; however, it wasn’t until a passing ambulance was flagged down – which already had a patient onboard in a stable condition – did he receive the help that he needed.
Unconscious
Adrienne explained, “After about 20 minutes of waiting for the ambulance Nick started to go unconscious – he was laid flat out on the floor outside Greggs – so my son rang to say he was now unconscious. But it was still at least another half an hour before we flagged down the ambulance.
“The ambulance guy who stopped to help out and tend to Nick was amazing. They made a call and minutes later the ambulance arrived for Nick. As soon as the ambulance crew arrived, we knew Nick was in safe hands.”
Nick has now recovered and Adrienne says he is feeling ‘better than ever’; but the experience has left its mark on the couple. She added, “Once you have the ambulance the service is amazing, it’s the waiting time that is the problem. When you can see someone slipping away and you think there is nothing you can do to help – it was horrible. You just need that ambulance to arrive, and quickly!”
In June last year, one local woman fell near the Post Office in Church Street, cutting her head, and breaking her shoulder, humerus, forearm and wrist. She described lying on the pavement for four hours, with family members looking on helplessly.
She said, “People kept calling them [the ambulance service] up, and they said they were doing their best, and I’m sure they were, but it was just over four hours when they arrived.
“I wasn’t really aware at the time what was going on as it was a nasty bang to the head. I do know that a passerby, who was a vet, told me not to move and that I was bleeding really badly – but all I really remember was just lying there. I must say that the ambulance staff were very good when they arrived, but the wait was not good – and from what I have heard, it is just getting worse and worse.”
A spokesperson for the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) said, “The whole health and social care system has been under sustained pressure for many months now, meaning patients are having to wait longer for an ambulance than they would expect.
“Our performance has not returned to pre-pandemic levels, partly due to handover delays caused by capacity issues in hospitals, and in community and social care. This means it’s currently taking us too long to get an ambulance to patients.
“We continue to work on a daily basis with our partners to ensure our crews can get back out on the road as quickly as possible, to respond to other 999 calls.”
