Daughter says NHS 'not fit for purpose' after father endures seven-hour ambulance wait
A daughter is pleading with people to "stop wasting the NHS' time" after her dad with dementia had to endure a seven-hour wait to be admitted to Heartlands Hospital.
Katy Boulter, from Solihull, has told ITV News Central about her dad Wallace, who is in his 80s and suffered from the attack on Friday evening.
Heartlands Hospital couldn’t admit him due to a shortage of beds so he had to wait in the ambulance.
She said when she finally got to her dad in the morning he "cried like a child" because he was so overwhelmed by the wait.
"Stop wasting the NHS time"
Katy told ITV News Central: "If it's not serious, if it's not life threatening, stop wasting the NHS time."
"Stop wasting their resources."
"There's people dying, people needing medical care, and the ambulances need to be freed up, but how can they be when people are just wasting time?"
A "critical incident" is declared when the level of disruption means hospitals are unable to deliver critical services and may not be able to operate safely.
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust said it had experienced "some of the highest" attendances it had ever seen at the emergency department in the past couple of weeks.
Increased hospital pressures meant that there was a shortage of beds for people with critical conditions, so they could not admit anyone.
Multiple hospitals across England are affected due to a soaring number of patients being admitted with flu and other respiratory illnesses.
Ms Boulter adds: "The NHS system was great years ago, we were proud of it as British people. Unfortunately it's not fit for purpose anymore."
"These are our family members, they've worked all their lives, and at the end of their life this is what they're given."
"It's just dreadful isn't it?"
"We were so proud of our NHS as British people," Katy Boulter says
In response, Professor Sir Stephen Powis, NHS National Medical Director, said: “It is clear that hospitals are under exceptional pressure at the start of this new year, with mammoth demand stemming from this ongoing cold weather snap and respiratory viruses like flu – all on the back of 2024 being the busiest year on record for A&E and ambulance teams."
“I never fail to be impressed by the remarkable job that NHS staff across a range of services in the face of current challenges, remaining compassionate, professional and doing everything they can to see patients as quickly as possible while often working in hospitals that are full to bursting.
"It is hard to quantify just through the data how tough it is for frontline staff at the moment – with some staff working in A&E saying that their days at work feel like some of the days we had during the height of the pandemic."
He adds: "As the incredibly busy winter continues and hospitals clearly experience intense pressure, please do continue to only use 999 and A&E in life-threatening emergencies and use NHS 111 and 111 online for other conditions, as well as using your local GP and pharmacy services in the usual way."
Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting said: “In the past six months, we have ended the junior doctors’ strikes so staff are on the front line not the picket line for the first winter in three years, and introduced the new RSV vaccine. But despite the best efforts of staff, patients are still receiving unacceptable standards of care.
“Although this winter’s campaign vaccinated more people than last winter, this strain of flu has hit hard, putting more than three times as many patients into hospital compared to this time last year.
“Annual winter pressures should not mean an annual winter crisis, which is why this government is making significant investment in the NHS, undertaking fundamental reform, and acting now to improve social care. It will take time to turn the NHS around, but the fact that waiting lists are now falling shows that change is possible.”
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