A 95-year-old woman who broke her hip was told it was “not serious” during a five-hour wait for an ambulance, it has been reported.
Winifred Soanes broke her hip after falling out with her 92-year-old husband Andrew on Monday.
The couple were out on Christchurch High Street, Dorset, when the fall happened at around 2.30pm, which left Mrs Soanes unable to walk due to the pain she was in.
Despite several concerned members of the public repeatedly calling 999 for an ambulance and explaining Mrs Soanes was elderly and frail, she was reportedly told it was “not very important”.
Workers from nearby businesses gave the couple sleeping bags, blankets and pillows to keep them warm due to the cold weather outside at the time.
Others donated coffee and food to help Mr Soanes, a veteran and diabetic, who refused to leave his wife.
Despite repeated calls to dispatch an ambulance, they were not given a time frame on how long the wait would be.
The ambulance arrived at 7.45pm and took Ms Soanes to hospital.
‘It shouldn’t be happening in this day and age’
However, Mr. Soanes says that he is now unable to visit his wife at the hospital because of the chest pain she developed after standing outside for five hours.
Local residents who stopped to help the couple criticized the “broken” system following the incident.
Jennifer Baylis, who worked at the charity shop, said: “I can’t tell you how devastating it was, he said ‘I’m going to die here tonight'”.
“She was in so much pain and so vulnerable, on the cold floor, totally trusting strangers.”
Situations like this “should not be happening in this day and age”, Ms Baylis added.
“The NHS is good when there is help. We know how hard they work. But it is something very wrong to leave a 95-year-old woman on the road at night.”
David Lovell, who saw her fall and was the first to call an ambulance, said: “I can’t explain how cold it was, and as it got dark, the temperature dropped very quickly.
“He was lying in a cold place and we couldn’t move him because he was in so much pain.
‘The situation was bad’
Mrs Soanes was later taken to Poole Hospital where she is awaiting specialist surgery for her injuries.
Her husband said: “The situation was bad, but it’s nice to know that when they need it, the whole community comes together to help.”
A spokesperson for the South Western Ambulance Service said: “We are sorry that we were unable to provide the appropriate response to this patient. Any instance where the care we provide falls below the high standards our patients deserve and the care they deserve is unacceptable.
“The delay in providing emergency departments remains one of our biggest problems. To make sure that our ambulances are available to go to an emergency call within the community, we want to be able to provide patients within 15-minute national goal.
“We continue to work hard with our partners in the NHS and social care, to do everything we can to improve the service patients receive.”