In July my brother became unwell (he suffers from epilepsy) and was assisted by homecare staff. I arrived whilst they were helping him back to bed and made sure he was okay. Later I arrived to find him on the floor, unable to get up. I helped him to his feet and decided he would be more comfortable in the living room. While attempting this he fell and hit his head on the radiator and was clearly not well.
I phoned 999, described what was happening to him and was refused an emergency ambulance. I was told to call 111 which I did and spoke to the call handler. I described what was going on. They spoke with him and decided that he was not well and went to speak to a nurse who then advised that they could send an ambulance but it would take up to 6 hours.
I decided if I could get help from Homecare staff to get him to Hospital A&E, I would take him myself, which I did. I felt totally alone, disgusted and in fear for for my brothers life. Epilepsy can and does cause death if not dealt with urgently.
At Hairmyres Hospital paramedics helped me get him into A&E department (thankful for their help) and spent 90 mins for triage nurse to look at him. He became more unwell whilst sitting there and at 4 in the morning got into a cubicle, then 30mins later saw a doctor.
May I ask who decides when to send an ambulance?
"Ambulance who decides who gets one?"
About: NHS 24 / NHS 24 (111 service) NHS 24 NHS 24 (111 service) Scottish Ambulance Service / Ambulance Control Centre Scottish Ambulance Service Ambulance Control Centre EH12 9EB University Hospital Hairmyres / Emergency Department University Hospital Hairmyres Emergency Department G75 8RG
Posted by Orca (as ),
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