Retired nurse, 90, left lying in agony for 6 hours

Fall: The ambulance should have arrived for Barbara within 90 minutes
A retired nurse, 90, was left lying in agony with a shattered pelvis as she waited SIX hours for an ambulance to arrive. Barbara Hedley, who lives alone, was found face down at her home in terrible pain by neighbour Gina Mackenzie. An ambulance should have arrived for Mrs Hedley, who is a widow, within 90 minutes of the call following her fall at 5.45pm on August 29. But it didn't get there until after midnight. Mrs Hedley, of Beeston Regis, near Sheringham, north Norfolk, said: "I took a very dim view of all this having been in the trade for many years and to be treated like I wished I was dead. "I don't think you would have treated a dog like that."

Barbara, a former ward sister at Mundesley Hospital, Norfolk, added: "I have never suffered so much pain in my life. "I will never forget it." Mrs Mackenzie, 68, dashed to help the stricken pensioner after she pressed an emergency help-line button. But it was more than two hours before a paramedic arrived and more than six before Mrs Hedley was finally taken to hospital.

 Proud: Barbara during her career as a nurse



Mrs Mackenzie said she repeatedly called to find out if an ambulance had been sent. A paramedic finally turned up after 8pm in a rapid response vehicle. "The paramedic told us that if an ambulance had not arrived by 11pm we should phone 999," said Mrs Mackenzie. But with no ambulance she rang again at 11.15pm. "Again it was confirmed that an ambulance was on its way coming from a very long way away but without blue lights," said Mrs Mackenzie.
It was 12.15am before an ambulance arrived, by which time Mrs Hedley had been lifted into her bed.

Mrs Hedley added: "I never want to go through that again. "I couldn't move because of the pain in my leg and I knew I had fractured it." Norwich-born Mrs Hedley trained at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital before starting a long career as a nurse in 1948. She moved into her current home in 1980, her husband Walter died four years later and she's lived by herself since.

Response: East of England Ambulance Service apologised to Barbara (file picture)

 
One of the biggest fears I have is falling over," said Mrs Hedley. An East of England Ambulance Service spokesman said Mrs Hedley had been conscious and breathing so the incident was graded as a "green call" as it was not life-threatening. Di Chan, senior locality manager for the ambulance service, said: "I'd like to apologise to the patient for waiting as long as she did to be taken to hospital.
"A paramedic attended her two hours after the call but an ambulance crew was not available to visit her until much later. "I am heartened that she was pleased with the level of care given when we attended. We are looking at this patient's case and will visit her to discuss what happened.

"We're working hard to get more ambulances on the road, recruit hundreds of new frontline staff, upskill staff, and save money to reinvest and improve patient care so that patients get a quicker response and a level of service they expect."