Dementia sufferer, 84, waited 13 hours for ambulance

Mike Cokeley underwent surgery for a fractured hip when he was taken to hospital in Bath

An ambulance service has apologised after an 84-year-old man waited for paramedics for 13 hours on the floor.

Matt Cokeley's father Mike, a former ambulance driver, broke his hip in a fall at home in Easton, Bristol.

Mr Cokeley said he was shocked that his father, who also has Parkinson's and dementia, was not treated as a higher priority, and has made a complaint.

South Western Ambulance Service (SWAST) said it did not comment on individual cases but would speak to the family.

"Our response times are directly affected by the time it takes us to handover patients into busy hospital emergency departments which is longer than we have ever seen before.

"We are sorry that this means people are waiting longer than we would expect for us to get to them," added a SWAST spokesperson.

Matt Cokeley has made a complaint to SWAST over the handling of the incident

Mr Cokeley said his mother initially called for an ambulance after his father had fallen at about 18:00 BST on 5 December and was told there could be a delay due to a high volume of calls.

They made a further two calls to check on progress but Mr Cokeley said that he was given the impression of "don't keep calling and blocking the lines".

He said an ambulance crew arrived shortly after 07:00 BST on 6 December.

"The first thing they did was apologise and explain there was unprecedented demand. When they came in they were kind and caring, and got my dad to hospital which was all we needed," said Mr Cokeley.

'Under sustained pressure'

He said despite the pressures on the service he would have expected his father, who worked in the ambulance service for 40 years, to have been seen quicker.

"The irony is not lost on us that he drove ambulances and towards the end of his career he was an ambulance control officer, so was dispatching ambulances himself," added Mr Cokeley.

SWAST said services have been under "significant and sustained pressure for some time".

"We would also encourage people...to help us by only dialling 999 in a life-threatening emergency so we can prioritise those who are most seriously injured and ill," a spokesperson added.