Ambulance wait ‘ridiculous’
GOOD SAMARITAN Landlady Angie Spencer waited with the injured woman til the ambulance arrived. (d605a308)
A pub landlady has hit out at a 45-minute wait for an ambulance as an injured woman lay by the road.
Angie Spencer says she knelt with the 62-year-old, trying to keep her warm, after she was hit by a car in Birstall last Friday evening.
“It took three or four minutes to get through on 999 in the first place, but then we had to wait 45 minutes for the ambulance to arrive,” said Mrs Spencer, who runs the Wine and Spirits Vault in Huddersfield Road. “It was very upsetting.”
Mrs Spencer’s husband, Geoff, saw the accident as he stood outside the pub at around 6.30pm.
“Geoff asked me to call 999,” she said. “I rang but had to wait three or four minutes for an answer. I gave details and went back to the woman. She could not move her right arm and was still on the floor. I fetched a blanket from the pub to keep her warm. She was shaken and shivering and lay across my knee.
“As we waited, she was leaning into me to keep warm.”
After the ambulance arrived, paramedics helped the injured woman walk to the vehicle.
“She was very shocked,” said Mrs Spencer. “It was not nice at all. I don’t blame the ambulance service. They do their best, but they are up against government cuts. But to take so long when someone has been hit by a car is ridiculous. They said they had been really busy.”
Mrs Spencer only knows the woman as Linda from Birstall. “I asked her to let me know how she gets on and I’m still waiting to hear,” she said.
A spokesman for West Yorkshire Ambulance Service said: “We received a 999 call to a road traffic collision involving a car and a pedestrian in Chapel Lane in Birstall.
“A rapid response vehicle and an ambulance were deployed to the scene and on arrival clinicians treated an adult female who had sustained a minor injury before transporting her to Dewsbury and District Hospital for further care.
“We are keen to speak directly to those concerned and ask that they contact our Patient Relations team so we can look into the matter further, on 0345 122 0535.”
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Batley
Wednesday 19 June 2013
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 10 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Light rain
Temperature: 11 C to 17 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: East
