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Unacceptable delays

Posted By lyrakf54

"Unacceptable delays"

About: Scottish Ambulance Service / Emergency Ambulance University Hospital Wishaw / Emergency Department

(as a relative),

I'm here with my mother, who is in her late 80s and has a suspected TIA.

Been here now almost 8 hours - mother still hasn’t seen a doctor. Waiting area completely packed full. No air con, inadequate ventilation, stuffy and hot, painfully hard seats and broken drinks vending machine.

Staff behind the desk helpful enough but they talk and chat annoyingly loudly about telly, their lives, hair care, gossip, making themselves tea and coffee whilst all waiting can’t even get a drink of water. They have no self awareness, no sense of how irritating their otherwise normal behaviour is when they can be seen and overheard by patients and their families waiting for 8 hours plus in A&E!

In my experience, the NHS is beyond broken, I could weep for my Ma cause I believe the contract with the British Public is broken - we are no longer able to trust the NHS to look after us from cradle to grave! Also has to bring my mother here myself cause the ambulance service failed us - we had to cancel the ambulance for my mother after another 6 hours wait!

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Responses

Response from Julie Coyle, Senior Nurse - Emergency Care, University Hospital Wishaw, NHS Lanarkshire 4 days ago
Julie Coyle
Senior Nurse - Emergency Care, University Hospital Wishaw,
NHS Lanarkshire

Submitted on 10/11/2025 at 18:58
Published on Care Opinion at 18:58

Dear Lyrakf54,

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience while accompanying your mother to our Emergency Department. I want to begin by sincerely apologising for the distressing and uncomfortable situation you both endured during what was clearly a very difficult time.

I completely understand how frustrating and upsetting it must have been to wait so long, especially in a crowded and uncomfortable environment, while your mother was unwell. I’m truly sorry that the conditions in the waiting area and the delay in being seen added to your distress. This is not the experience we want for any of our patients or their families.

Your feedback about the environment and staff conduct has been taken seriously. While our team often works under immense pressure, it’s vital that we remain sensitive to how our actions and conversations are perceived by those in our care. I will ensure your comments are shared with the relevant teams so that we can reflect and improve.

I also want to acknowledge your concerns about the ambulance delay. We know how critical timely care is, especially in suspected TIA cases, and I’m sorry that you were left feeling unsupported at such a crucial moment.

Please know that your voice matters. We are committed to learning from experiences like yours to improve the care and compassion we provide.If you would like to discuss this further, Please contact our Patient Affairs team for a more formal review at patientaffairs@lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk

Wishing your mother a smooth and full recovery.

Best wishes,

Julie.

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Update posted by lyrakf54 (a relative)

Thank you Julie for taking the time to respond and for your care and understanding and compassion. It’s very heartening.

I will click on the link tomorrow and take advantage of your offer of a more formal review.

regards

Lyrakf54

Response from Marie Kennedy, Patient Experience Manager, Corporate Affairs, Scottish Ambulance Service 3 days ago
Marie Kennedy
Patient Experience Manager, Corporate Affairs,
Scottish Ambulance Service

Submitted on 11/11/2025 at 11:26
Published on Care Opinion at 11:26

picture of Marie Kennedy

Dear lyrakf54,

Thank you for sharing your experience. I’m responding on behalf of the Scottish Ambulance Service and I’m very sorry to hear about the distressing situation you and your mother faced. Waiting such a long time for care, particularly when your mother was unwell, must have been extremely difficult.

I also want to acknowledge your concern about the ambulance delay. We know how important timely care is, especially in suspected TIA cases and I’m sorry that you felt unsupported at such a critical moment. Like many healthcare services, we are experiencing significant demand, which can sometimes lead to delays despite our teams working hard to reach patients as quickly as possible. This is never the experience we want for anyone and your feedback will help us reflect and improve.

If you would like us to look into the ambulance aspect in more detail, please email sas.feedback@nhs.scot with your name, your mother’s name, the date, time and address of the call out, and include your Care Opinion username. This will allow us to review what happened and respond fully.

Thank you again for taking the time to post – your comments are greatly valued.

Best wishes,
Marie

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