"A very stressful experience"

Last November I had an appointment at the Bristol Royal Infirmary for an operation related to spina bifida. I booked an ambulance through the South West Ambulance Service to take me to the hospital, somehow two ambulances were sent out.

The first one arrived and took me to the hospital, shortly afterwards a second ambulance arrived but because I was not there to respond the ambulance driver called the police thinking I was in the house and in difficulty. The police broke a window to get in, I had to pay for the repairs when I got out of hospital.

In March I had a fall in the house and used the security cord to call for help. When the ambulance arrived they decided to take me to the BRI for further checks. I was told I would not need my wheel chair or walker or anything as I would be returned home in an ambulance.

In the event I was discharged at 3:00am, no arrangements were made to bring me home and I was left to make my own way back. I live about 20 miles from the BRI, I was wearing my slippers and did not have a coat or my purse and felt very vulnerable at the bus stop in the middle of the night, in the cold.

I had no money. I was very lucky that a kind Samaritan gave me £5 to get myself on a bus and get home to bed. If the ambulance drivers say they will bring you back they should do so.

A couple or so days later I had another fall and again I used the security cord to call for help. On this occasion the two ambulance people who came did not know what spina bifida is, one of them asked the other to Google it to find out more. I found this unacceptable.

They did not examine me to check I had not hurt myself or broken any bones as I also suffer from brittle bones. I had to ask them to check my spine as this was painful. I refused to be taken to hospital on this occasion having had such a stressful experience just days earlier.