Patient forced to give directions to lost medics
This came after having to wait 90 minutes for crews to arrive
By Dan Townend
The Express
Cambridge, England — A pensioner who had to wait 90 minutes for an ambulance was stunned when he had to give directions to the hospital.
Grandfather-of-five Ian Taylor called 999 after a fall at his home in Cambridge left him with blood pouring from a head cut.
But an ambulance was sent from 70 miles away in Canvey Island. When medics did arrive, they got lost in the dark driving to Addenbrooke's Hospital.
Mr Taylor a retired architect, who some years before had suffered a stroke, said: "I had collapsed in the early hours of Friday, hit my head and was unconscious for hours in a pool of blood.
"The doctor that morning stopped the bleeding. But in the evening I found I was bleeding profusely again." On the way to hospital, Mr Taylor came to the rescue of the confused medics when he recognised a pub.
East of England Ambulance Service has apologised, saying both navigation systems on the vehicle were not working.
Spokesman Gary Sanderson said the call was coded "not life-threatening" and added: "We do our very best to get to patients within the appropriate time frame, but sometimes this is a challenge if we're very busy with more serious cases."
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Mike Ledgerwood Monday, December 03, 2012 5:07:55 PM Why is this even news? I have been lost several times. Sometimes it is faster and easier to ask a family member best way out of their neighborhood or whatever the case may be. Its impossible to know everything. 
Dale Johnson Monday, December 03, 2012 9:29:05 PM There is always one 'navigation system' that should be on every ambulance and should be up-to-date. It's called a map. And there should be a map of every area that an ambulance may realistically be sent to. GPS (Garmin, Tom-Tom, etc) can fail. IVN systems can fail. 
Alexander Jerome Henderson Tuesday, December 04, 2012 8:54:24 AM I'm more concerned with the fact it was a 70 mile trip to the guys house. 
Teresa Sluss Tuesday, December 04, 2012 4:10:36 PM yea, getting lose is par for the course in our profession, but I would think that the 70 mile trip one way would be another matter of concern. WHY was a unit 70 miles away called for this. IT IS PURE STUPID ON THE DISPATCHER, AND THE SERVICE THAT TOOK IT. 
Ingrid Scott Thursday, December 06, 2012 12:19:24 PM It's possible that any closer services were tied up, you know. In my rural state, you also have to drive fairly long distances. The fact it took 90 minutes to go 70 miles says it wasn't exactly interstate the whole way, either.
Matthew Ervin Tuesday, December 04, 2012 5:56:59 PM Mike, I have been lost several times too. We do our best, but if we are new to the area, or if we get called for mutual aid from two counties away, how can ppl expect us to know the most direct route to their house, and the most direct route to a hospital that we've likely never even seen or visited. The point the rest are missing is the fact that we are always on our way, even when we have other emergencies holding, and even when we are branching into jurisdictions we are not familiar with, we will never slow down until we arrive, even during times we haven't eaten or slept in hours and have to peeeee so bad we can barely hold it!
Teresa, if the nearest available ambulance was 70 miles away, are you still going to call the dispatcher stupid? That's like calling one of your partners stupid. Dispatchers do the best they can just as we do. It angers me to see an EMS member refer to a dispatcher as Stupid. 
