Woman left in agony for five hours waiting for ambulance (From Southend Standard)

Woman left in agony for five hours waiting for ambulance

3:10pm Thursday 14th March 2013 in News

A WOMAN was left waiting in agony with kidney stones for five hours for an ambulance to turn up.

Colette Hornsby had been discharged from Southend Hospital nine days after first going to hospital with kidney stones.

She was allowed home to Second Avenue, Canvey last Thursday (7th) with an outpatient appointment booked for treatment but the pain worsened overnight leaving her doubled over and sick with the excrutiating pain.

Unable to make her own way to hospital and with only her frail father and two children aged 11 and 13 in the house they called for an ambulance at 9.40am on Friday.

Her husband Gary, 52, said; “They explained the problem, that she’d been discharged and that a bed was being kept for her for 24 hours but had been used for another emergency.

“Her dad is frail and wears an arm strap so was unable to help support her down the stairs. It was stressful for him. He kept calling and being told it’ll be within the hour

“We waited until 1.20pm for a paramedic in a car to arrive. He gave her morphine but the ambulance didn’t arrive until 2.55pm half an hour after I got back from work. By then she was in and out of consciousness.

“Her dad repeatedly rang to explain the problem but it took five hours which is disgusting.

“I feel the only way for them to take notice is to come to the Echo and complain.”

Colette, 39, had to be carried down the stairs in a stretcher chair to the ambulance and remains in hospital dosed on pain relief and on fluids. She is due to have treatment to break up the kidney stone.

An ambulance service spokesman said: “Whilst this was not a life threatening call, we recognise that our response took too long and we apologise for the delay.

"We always endeavour to reach our patients within the required timeframe but on occasions this cannot be achievable due to a high demand in potentially life threatening calls such as heart attacks, strokes and unconsciousness."