Woman, 92, has nine-hour wait for ambulance to Shrewsbury hospital after breaking hip in fall

The family of Glenys Coombes, 92, says she was in excruciating pain throughout the night.

Daughter Sian Tasker says she is also unable to be with her mother in the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital because the hospital trust is still not allowing visitors.

Mrs Coombes lives with her daughter and her husband in Oswestry.

"We telephoned an ambulance at 8.45pm on Tuesday for my mother who had fallen, was unable to get up and described excruciating pain in both her right shoulder and right hip," Mrs Tasker said.

"My husband and I gave her all the help and support we could but watching her in pain over this time was distressing."

She said that ambulance arrived at 5.45am on Wednesday, nine hours after the initial call.

"On several occasions on repeat calling we were told the Ambulance Service was very busy and mum was not considered a priority as her condition was not life-threatening.

"Logic would indicate fractures and, statistically, the longer the elderly are left untreated for such injuries, the less positive is their outcome."

Mrs Tasker said that when the paramedics did arrive they were wonderful.

"I was told there was little point in driving to the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital because the trust has a no-visit policy.

"This I found extraordinary as the government guidance changed in March indicating that every patient is now able to have one visitor in any inpatient setting, including A&E."

Nathan Hudson, emergency services operations delivery director said: “I would like to apologise wholeheartedly for the length of time it took to get to Mrs Coombes.

"Noone should have to wait almost nine hours for an ambulance to turn up, particularly a 92-year-old lady who is in severe pain.

“Unfortunately, the NHS remains under severe pressure. At the time of the call, demand for ambulances in Shropshire was 15 per cent higher than the same day last year.

"The pressure on local hospitals also has a knock-on effect on ambulance handover times which unfortunately means our patients wait longer for a response to their 999 call.

“Like our colleagues in hospitals and other parts of the NHS, our crews are working flat out with many offering to work additional shifts to help meet the current level of demand, which is far higher than we have ever seen in the past for the time of year."

“I would also encourage members of the public to make full use of services such as their GP, pharmacists and urgent treatment centres.”

Kara Blackwell, deputy director of nursing at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, said: “We understand that relatives and friends want to be with their loved ones when they are in hospital and we are continuing to work towards restoring visiting, in a way that is safe for all of our patients and staff, as soon as possible.

“Because many of the admissions to our hospitals are emergencies, we need to take extra precautions to prevent the spread of Covid-19. We understand how distressing this can be for families and I would like to assure everyone that we are working to implement a solution as soon as it is safe to do so.”