Eight hours outside A&E: 'I was paramedics’ only patient for an entire shift'
Andy Maxwell has nothing but praise for the ambulance crew that ferried him from his home in Wellington to The Royal Shrewsbury Hospital – and shares their frustration at having to wait eight hours in an ambulance before he was admitted for treatment.
He was the only patient his crew dealt with for their entire shift because their ambulance spent the entire day parked outside A&E.
The 57-year-old sales and promotions manager had a bout of food poisoning on August 11 and hadn’t felt well on going to bed.
Mr Maxwell got up to go to the toilet around 7am the next day but blacked out, hitting the toilet bowl as he went down.
His wife called an ambulance, which took an hour to arrive, and he was taken to hospital at around 8am but had to wait in the queue to be admitted. Although he was barely conscious at times during the eight-hour delay, he said it could have been much worse.
“Being honest, the ambulance was air-conditioned and the team looking after me, James and Emma, were first class and couldn’t do enough for me," he said.
“They gave me gas and air and even a lollipop at one point to keep my sugars and awareness up. They were totally professional and I could have been in a worse place, as I found out when I was admitted.
“There were people in pain and struggling on the corridors and it was a hot and sweaty environment so I was probably better off in the ambulance, although of course it isn’t an ideal situation.
Mr Maxwell eventually spent five days in the RSH with a punctured lung and six cracked ribs
He said: “I didn’t realise the diagnosis at first, though the paramedics did say it looked like there was damage to the ribs. James and Emma said it was the first time they hadn’t been able to go on another shout.
“Mine was the first of the day and they spent the entire shift looking after me in the ambulance – obviously that is not the best used of skilled and trained medical personnel.
“I don’t know what the answer is, whether it is more investment in the NHS or training more people, because in my case it wasn’t the lack of staff it was the lack of beds to admit patients that caused delays and stopped the paramedics from getting back on the road."
Mr Maxwell added: “My experience was nothing but positive from the way I was dealt with. But obviously there is a problem with capacity that must be causing frustration for senior managers down to NHS staff, patients and their families.”
