An ambulance service has apologized after a man who suffered from a heart attack was asked to take himself to the hospital or face a long wait.
Graham Reagan said his son had to take him to the hospital. He was informed that the nearest ambulance was 30 to 40 miles away.
Reagan, of Malton, North Yorkshire, said he called 999 when his chest started paining and sooner it turns into unbearable pain and that he was about to collapse when he reached York Hospital in the early hours of 18 December.
“How can the NHS crisis be assumed? If it’s 2 a.m., you have a heart attack, and you can’t find an ambulance, is it a crisis? Not working. It definitely didn’t work for me.” They said
The military was trained to operate ambulances in parts of England, including Yorkshire and the home county, as the service comes under heavy pressure amid staff absenteeism of up to 20% due to Covid-19.
He said the hospital staff were “absolutely talented” and made arrangements to transfer him to the hall for treatment after the attack confirmed a heart attack. However, he said he had to wait another 35 minutes for an ambulance to reach the hospital.
Reagan said he wanted to share his experience to raise awareness: ” He thought there would be more deaths [due to ambulance delays]. Is that okay? What if the people of England will not get the health services on time?”
A Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust spokesperson said they were sorry to hear Reagan’s concerns. He said, along with other ambulance services, they were under “significant operational pressure for some time” and, while staff did their best to respond quickly, they acknowledged that “some patients have to wait longer for an ambulance response.” is falling”
