Bleeding pensioner with 'serious head injuries' endured 'distressing' four-hour wait for help
An elderly man was found bleeding with "serious head injuries" and waited four hours for an ambulance.
The 80-year-old man had to be the driven to the hospital by his wife after he took a fall on 21 October at Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog in Wrexham.North Wales businessman and broadcaster Jonathan Greatorex, who owns The Hand Hotel and Spa at Llanarmon, found the pensioner and later posted about the incident on social media.
He tweeted about "administering first aid" to an 80-year-old man who was bleeding after he suffered a fall in a country lane close to a hotel.
He raised concerns about the delays from the Welsh Ambulance and said: "Today (21 October 2023) I was called to help and administer first aid on an 80-year-old man who had suffered serious head injuries in a fall on a country lane whilst out walking.
"He suffered serious blood loss and I managed to get the bleeding under control and having dialled 999 I was told not to move him.
"I took him to my home, just down the road and when, after four hours, the ambulance hadn’t turned up, we managed to get hold of his wife who drove him to hospital."The staff at 999 were excellent but were unable to give me any updates as to where or when the ambulance would arrive."
Mr Greatorex added: "This is simply not acceptable in rural communities such as ours."
The Welsh Ambulance Service offered its "sincerest apologies" to the injured walker for what must have been a "distressing and traumatic" experience.
Judith Bryce, Assistant Director of Operations at the Welsh Ambulance Service, said: "We would like to extend our sincere apologies to the patient after what must have been a distressing and traumatic incident. This is not the service that we want to offer.
"We are working hard with health board colleagues and Welsh Government to find solutions to the ongoing system wide issues which lead to long waits in the community for ambulances, as we know we need to improve the experience for people across Wales.
“As the winter approaches, the public can help protect our precious resources for those who need us most by using 999 sensibly, and visiting the NHS 111 Wales for health advice and information, or calling 111 if it’s urgent but not life-threatening.
“We invite the patient to contact the Trust’s Putting Things Right Team so we can investigate the incident fully.
"I would like to apologise again for the patient’s experience and wish them a speedy recovery."
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