A former hospitality worker drove an 81-year-old man to hospital after being told he faced a 13-hour wait for an ambulance.
Christine Baron, who was out for a walk, helped rescue Trevor Whitehead from Fairheaven Lake in Blackpool on Dec 6, after he fell in the water while walking his dogs.
She drove Mr Whitehead to Blackpool Victoria Hospital in her car after paramedics working for the North West Ambulance Service told her there would be a 13-hour wait for a vehicle.
“They asked me, ‘is there anybody who can take him to the hospital, because we’re so busy’ – and when we got there there were loads of ambulances stacked up – loads of them waiting to take people into the hospital, but there aren’t any beds free,” she told The Telegraph.
However, they faced a six-hour wait in A&E, where there were only two seats free, Ms Baron said. “[Mr Whitehead] was soaked and shivering in a wheelchair, and it took his partner kicking off to get extra blankets. After that, they took him in after about 20 minutes.”
‘I’m so lucky Chris is such a wonderful woman’
Mr Whitehead was walking his two dogs by Fairhaven Lake, and paused to look for his “favourite ducks”.
“I shouldn’t really have walked down the slope,” he told The Telegraph. “It was very muddy – I slipped and fell into the water, it was really horrible. But I’m so lucky Chris is such a wonderful woman”.
Two men – including a fellow dog walker and an employee at the nearby ice cream kiosk – also rushed to assist and pulled Mr Whitehead from the water.
His left arm is broken in two places, and he has sustained damage to the shoulder.
Currently in a sling, Mr Whitehead has been told to expect a wait of more than two weeks for surgery and was reportedly advised by a nurse to “go private to get seen”.
‘I shouldn’t be told to go private’
Mr Whitehead’s partner, who asked not to be named, said: “It’s absolutely shocking – he’s in agony, his arm is swollen up like a balloon and I had to really push for strong pain relief. I’m helping him with washing and getting dressed.
“It shouldn’t be like this – an NHS nurse shouldn’t be needing to tell me to go private, but we’re seriously considering it.”
Recent footage taken outside Blackpool Victoria Hospital shows 14 ambulances queued outside the A&E department, with delays delivering patients to wards caused by a shortage of beds.
A North West Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “The health service as a whole is currently experiencing significant pressure. During these busy periods, hospital handover waits can become a challenge.
“We work closely with our hospital colleagues across the region to help enable emergency crews to clear as quickly as possible and respond to other patients.
“Any patients waiting longer than we would like are monitored with the emergency department clinical team informed of any changes in their condition to prioritise them correctly.
“We are grateful to patients for considering alternatives for non-urgent health concerns, including NHS 111 online, GP or local pharmacy, which helps us keep our ambulances available for emergencies.”
According to Telegraph analysis of NHS England statistics, the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Salford Royal along with The Royal Oldham Hospital, Rochdale Infirmary and Fairfield General Hospital in Bury, is the worst trust in the country for bed blocking.
Recent figures suggest that each day, a 92.4 per cent of those patients ready to go home end up staying. On the last day of October, of the 285 patients ready to leave, only 25 did.
