The Daily Populous Monday December 2nd, 2024 evening edition
Authored by independent.co.uk and submitted by Sandstorm400

Your support helps us to tell the story Read more Support Now From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference. Close Read more

A 95-year-old woman was left on a cold pavement for more than five hours waiting for an ambulance after the emergency services told a bystander trying to help her that she wasn’t a priority.

Winifred Soanes fell and broke her hip on Christchurch High Street in Bournemouth on 25 November.

Her husband Andrew, 92, “wouldn’t leave her side”, and several people in the area tried to help out, with local businesses offering essentials to help Winifred.

Jennifer Baylis, who works at a nearby Prama charity shop, helped throughout the day. She said: “I can’t tell you how upsetting it was, she actually said, ‘I’m going to die here tonight’”.

Ms Baylis said a number of people attempted to call an ambulance to help Winifred, but they were given no timeframe and told she was not a priority by the emergency services.

Mr Soanes, Winifred’s husband, described the scene, saying: “The situation was dire, but it’s great to know that when they need to, the community all pull together to help.”

Winifred was eventually taken to Poole Hospital for treatment and is waiting for an operation, he said.

David Lovell, a bystander who was the first to call for an ambulance, said: “I can’t describe how cold it was, and as it got dark, the temperature dropped really quickly.

“She was lying on the cold pavement, and we couldn’t move her because she was in huge amounts of pain”.

Mr Lovell said he and others tried to find ways to prop up Winifred’s head, using shoe boxes and a pillow from local shops.

A spokesperson for the South Western Ambulance said: “We are sorry that we were not able to provide a timely response to this patient. Any occasion where the care we provide falls below the high standards our patients deserve and rightly expect is unacceptable.

“Handover delays at emergency departments remain one of our biggest challenges. To ensure our ambulances are available to attend the next emergency call within the community, we need to be able to hand patients over within the 15-minute national target.

“We continue to work hard with our patients in the NHS and social care, to do all we can to improve the service that patients receive.”

Fun-Dimension5196 on December 1st, 2024 at 21:15 UTC »

So if they can't hand over the patient within 15 minutes, they'll choose instead to not pick them up at all? Metrics are valued over Patient Care.

jreykdal on December 1st, 2024 at 21:07 UTC »

Holy crap was this statement from the ambulance company bad. Just a bunch of weasel words.

Sylocule on December 1st, 2024 at 20:50 UTC »

14 years of underfunding the NHS will do that