On Thursday last week, a 93 year old woman from Ventnor took a nasty tumble on the traffic island at the bottom of Spring Hill. Despite bleeding from the head, it took one hour and forty minutes for an ambulance to arrive.
Linda Chester, who runs Bizzy Lizzy’s on the corner, got in touch with OnTheWight about the incident, because she’s worried about the impact the Government’s austerity measures are having on the well-being of Islanders.
Ventnor’s community spirit
Within seconds of the woman’s fall, as you’d expect, Ventnorians were quick to help.
Linda tells us,
“The good folk of Ventnor were there to help her, including a qualified First Aider who having assessed the woman’s condition, decided that she needed further medical attention and called 999.
“Meanwhile the woman’s son had been contacted and arrived on the scene, first aid kits had appeared, a chair and blankets had been provided to make her as comfortable as possible whilst she waited for the ambulance.
“A wait that turned out to be a totally unacceptable one hour and forty minutes!”
“Put her in a taxi”
According to Linda’s account of the incident, after the first aider made the initial call to 999,
“He was told that unless the woman was in a life threatening state that he should drive her to hospital (which, as any First Aider knows is not part of their brief for obvious reasons!)
“When he made that point to the call centre they apparently asked if any member of her family were present as they could drive her in. When told that the son was present but did not hold a driving licence they were told to put the woman in a taxi.”
Further 999 calls were made and over the next hour, other folk arrived at the scene including a nurse/carer, the Pharmacist from Lloyds Chemist, Cllr Perks, two Police Officers as well as further relations of the woman.
Responding to higher priority cases
OnTheWight got in touch with the IW Ambulance Service to find out whether the advice given was what they’d expect it to be and why it took so long for the ambulance to arrive.
A spokesperson for the IW Ambulance Service said,
“At the time of the incident the Ambulance Service had nine calls and were actively dealing with seven incidents, all of which were of a higher priority, including severely unwell children, unconscious patients and cardiac symptoms. Additionally, during the timescale of this incident, the Rapid Response Vehicle attended three patients all of which were prioritised as life threatening.
“The response given to the operator and overseen by our highly skilled Paramedics indicated that this particular incident was not life-threatening and the advice given by the call handler was correct based on the information given.”
They went on to say,
“We regret the delay that occurred in the arrival of this ambulance and we sincerely apologise to the patient and the family and we would like to thank the first aiders who dealt with the lady on scene.
“The Service will always send an Ambulance to those needing one, irrespective of age. However, life threatening calls must take priority over those assessed by our highly qualified medics as being of a non-life threatening nature.”
Eroding the value of rural life
For Linda, the incident raised many questions, some of which will have been answered by the NHS response. She finished by saying,
“This whole incident raises various questions like, is it really the policy of the Ambulance Service that they “only respond to life threatening incidents”? and is this part of the current Government’s austerity programme?
“To me this all seems a lack of understanding by ‘the powers that be’ of how rural communities function and what support and services they need to do so. It feels like the value of rural life is being slowly eroded and this incident, along with the closure of our only bank, the threat of loss of our library etc., are all part of that.
“Having said that I totally agree with the woman who had the fall and her friend – I wouldn’t live anywhere else. The local kindness shown was phenomenal!”
Increasing demand on NHS services
The NHS Spokesperson finished by saying,
“On the day of the incident, the Ambulance Service had more vehicles and staff available to respond to incidents, due to the current increase in demand for our services.
“We actively encourage patients, their family and carers to provide feedback about their experiences. Any concerns about this incident, or any other, should be directed to our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) by phoning 01983 534850.”
The good news is that after treatment at St Mary’s the 93 year old woman is now back home.
