Ludlow parents' 36-minute ambulance wait as baby 'turns blue'

Parents who waited 36 minutes for an ambulance when their baby "turned blue" have recalled screaming in fear that "no-one's coming to help".

Darren and Cally Childs from Ludlow, Shropshire, said one-year-old daughter Myla had a seizure on 14 January.

The family phoned for help but were left fearing for Myla's safety during the long wait for paramedics, Mr Childs explained.

West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) has apologised for the delay.

After treatment, paramedics took Myla to hospital as a precaution, with WMAS suggesting she had suffered a febrile seizure. She is now back at the family home where her parents want answers.

WMAS explained a total of 27 ambulances operating in Shropshire at the time were already attending to patients when the Childs's call came, so the nearest one available was sent from 24 miles away in Herefordshire.

WMAS's aim is to reach 90% of category one calls - the most serious emergencies, which Myla's was classed as - within 15 minutes.

Critics fear October's closure of all four community ambulance stations in Shropshire added to difficulties in getting an ambulance to Ludlow.

Mr Childs has called for a dedicated ambulance hub for the area.

Mrs Childs said Myla struggled to breathe while they waited for help.

"She started going blue around the lips then the colour was just draining from her body, and then she went grey and was silent," Mrs Childs told the BBC.

"At that point I was just screaming."

Mr Childs added: "It's scary to think when you are in an emergency no-one's coming to help you."

In 2013, Shropshire man Paul Passant began a campaign for ambulances to be based in his town of Bridgnorth after one took 41 minutes to reach his seriously ill grandson. It was successful but the Bridgnorth site was among the four shut in October, leaving him feeling "disgusted" by Mr and Mrs Childs's ordeal.

"We hoped we'd never have a recurrence, and it's sickened me to the core to think we're back at stage one."

Alongside Bridgnorth, the doors were shut at the community ambulance station in Craven Arms in the south of the county where Ludlow is located.

Critics say ambulances deployed from the main Shrewsbury and Telford bases have too far to travel across the county, but WMAS says fewer than half of ambulances come directly from hubs, with paramedics travelling from wherever they are located when cleared for the next job.

The service has been experiencing operational pressures this winter. In December, Shropshire-based ambulances experienced long waits outside the county's two A&E departments amid delays in handing over patients.

WMAS said: "Our staff are working tirelessly to respond to patients as soon as we can."

With reference to Myla's case, it added: "After assessment, the child was taken to hospital as a precaution. They went to Hereford County Hospital as the alternative would have been Princess Royal in Telford which is 31 miles away."

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