"4 and a half hours in two different ambulances"

I was sent to Raigmore Hospital as an emergency by my GP in August 2021. I was subsequently diagnosed with multiple pulmonary emboli.

The care from the hospital and ambulance staff was excellent.

I was however kept waiting in an ambulance for 4 and a half hours in a Raigmore carpark and transferred to another ambulance to continue my wait before I could be admitted. This seemed like the ambulance from a more rural area of highland was therefore unavailable unnecessarily for other emergencies.

I wrote to the hospital towards the end of August to give my thanks but ask for the wait to be investigated. I have received no response or update despite contacting the nhs highland feedback team and emailing the NHS Highland Chief Executive.

I can understand the pressures on staff availability to investigate but NHS Highland have not responded to my attempts of getting an update. The nhs feedback answering machine, in my opinion, discourages complaints and comments by making you feel that you are imposing on the time of busy managers.

I would repeat that the care I experienced from a 4 and half hours in the ambulance and a week in the hospital was excellent and I have written to express my thanks.