By Max Orbach
The Echo
ROMFORD, England — An angry daughter is furious after it took paramedics three hours to reach her father.
Lorraine Hammond phoned for an ambulance as dad Alfred Oldershaw, 92, who was staying with her, was in great pain and unable to urinate.
Mr Oldershaw had been suffering with pneumonia and only been discharged from Basildon Hospital the day before, after spending ten days there.
Mrs Hammond, 50, of Del View, Canvey said: “He is 92-years old and the amount of pain he was in, I thought it could kill him. Dad was very frail and we didn’t want to risk driving him.”
After 90 minutes paramedics still hadn’t arrived, but when Mrs Hammond phoned 999 again she was assured it was on its way.
She said: “Dad was almost screaming at this point.
Mrs Hammond said when she phoned 999 for the second time she was asked if it was an emergency. The operator asked me if it was an emergency I said of course it is, he’s crying with pain?
“What ever you want me to say, I’ll say it. He’s 92 years old and he needs to get to the hospital.”
The ambulance finally arrived three hours after the first call and took Mr Oldershaw, who is from Romford, to Basildon Hospital.
Once there, he was fitted with a catheter, which relieved the pain.
Several people have complained about East of England Ambulance Service taking a long time to reach them in recent weeks. Footballer Phillip Pledger, 32, was left waiting for more than two hours after he broke his leg in two places last week.
Mr Pledger broke his leg at Rayleigh Leisure Centre, but was left waiting in agony from 7.10pm to 9.20pm, despite being only a short drive from Rayleigh Weir Ambulance Station The ambulance service wasasked to comment, but failed to get back to us.
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