Grandmother waits 14 hours 'in agony' for ambulance

A 93-year-old grandmother was left "screaming and crying" as she waited 14 hours for an ambulance, her family says.

Iris Webster had suffered a suspected hip injury at her home in Long Eaton, Derbyshire, when a visiting health professional called for an ambulance at 11:00 BST on 2 October.

Her family said after she was eventually taken to the Royal Derby Hospital, she was given a bed in "a corridor" for 23 hours.

East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) and University Hospitals of Derby and Burton (UHDB) NHS Foundation Trust have apologised directly to her family.

Mrs Webster's family said they were told to expect an ambulance within four hours on 2 October, and that they should not move her.

However, an ambulance did not arrive at her bungalow until 01:00 the following day, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Once she was taken to hospital, Mrs Webster was in an emergency department "corridor" near a staff station, her daughter Julia Mends said.

According to the hospital trust, Mrs Webster was cared for within "clinical areas" while in A&E and was given hot food, a sandwich and multiple drinks.

The family also said she was taken home by ambulance four days later - despite requesting a call to collect her.

And medication and a toilet frame were sent by taxi later that night, the LDRS said.

Ms Mends said: "The whole thing was just awful. It was an absolute disgrace. 

"My mother is distraught about the situation, and she doesn't want to go into hospital ever again. She wants to die at home.

"We only went into hospital because they did not know what was wrong with her, and we still don't know."

Ms Mends said in future, the family would only agree to pain management for their mother to stay at home.

She said: "Nobody needs to suffer for 14 hours, crying and screaming.

"If we had known it was going to be 14 hours, we would have taken the risk and taken her to hospital ourselves in my brother's car."

Garry Marsh, executive chief nurse for UHDB, said: "We are sorry to Mrs Webster and her family for their experience, which did not meet the high standards our patients should expect, and we have asked them to contact us directly so we can fully respond to their concerns."

He added: "While patients, like Mrs Webster, are waiting in A&E, they are always cared for in clinical areas by our experienced teams who deliver care, respond to the patient's clinical needs and support their wellbeing by making sure they have food, drink and toilet support.

"We should, and always strive to involve families and carers in discussions about a loved one's care, treatment and discharge plans, so we are very sorry to learn that this didn't happen for Mrs Webster and her family as it should have on this occasion."

A spokesperson for the trust added that A&E attendance was up 8.4% since September 2023.

Andrew Magee, head of operations for Derbyshire EMAS, said: "The NHS and ambulance service continues to operate under tremendous pressure.

"We know that we're unable to get to all patients as quickly as we would like to, and I am deeply sorry to hear about the prolonged wait which was experienced by this patient."

He added: "We take all concerns seriously at EMAS and have asked to speak to the patient's family so we can fully investigate their experience with us and respond in full."

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