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Care Opinion

My dad had a fall & waited 11 hours for an ambulance

Posted By gcpc

"My dad had a fall & waited 11 hours for an ambulance"

About: South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust

(as a relative),

My 89yr old dad (dementia, double incontinence) had a fall & waited 11 hours for an ambulance

My dad (89yrs old, lives alone, has Alzheimer's disease, doubly incontinent) fell in his house (at approx 6:30pm).  

His carer (who visits him at teatime each day for 1 hr) was unable to lift him.  She phoned 999 for assistance.  She informed me of my dad's fall.  I live over 100 miles away so was unable to quickly respond.  The carer and I were in regular contact throughout the evening.  I called 999 @ 10pm to chase up the ambulance.  As my dad was conscious and not bleeding, he was classed as a low priority, although he is a vulnerable individual.

The ambulance arrived @ 5:30am, 11 hours after the initial 999 call.  This waiting time is completely unacceptable for anyone, let alone a 89 year old man with dementia.  I would like to know 1) how I can progress this information to ensure it does not happen to anyone else and 2) whether the 11 hour wait time is outside of your Service Level Agreement.      
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Responses

Response from Deanne Hill, South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust 2 years ago
Deanne Hill
South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust

Submitted on 20/09/2021 at 17:03
Published on Care Opinion on 21/09/2021 at 10:38

Dear gcpc,

Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback

Firstly, I can only apologise for the service that your father, yourself and his carer received, I completely understand your frustration and concern.

The South Western Ambulance Service Foundation Trust (SWASFT) are experiencing unprecedented pressures at the moment and have declared a major and critical incident, we understand the service we provide is not as expected in some cases, and for this we deeply apologise.

The details you have provided here have been redacted for confidentiality so I am unable to locate the details of your call for further investigation. We would welcome the opportunity to look into the care provided to you; if you would like us to do this may I ask you to contact our Patient Experience Team on 01392 261 585 or email us at patientexperience@swast.nhs.uk and a member of the team will be able to provide information on the next steps including details on our Service Level Agreement.

Thank you, again, for taking the time to share your story with us, your feedback is imperative to improving the service.

Best wishes,

Dee

I hope that your father in on the road to recovery.

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