Injured pensioner couple's 'shock' at ambulance availability
AN ELDERLY woman has spoken of her “shock” at an ambulance failing to arrive after she was doused in petrol at a garage – just a month following her call for an emergency vehicle for her 96-year-old partner who had fallen on a concrete path in “torrential” rain.
Jennifer Totty (81) told the Advertiser her partner, Lawrence Canetti who lives in Sheffield, had slipped on a concrete path and was laid in the “pouring rain for an hour and a quarter” in the garden of her Rotherham home while visiting on August 28.
She claims she was told by the operator there would not be an ambulance for a “couple of hours” and it “didn't matter” her partner was 96 or there were “torrential downpours”.
“'Age doesn't come into it,' I was told,” said Ms Totty.
“The environment doesn't come into it.”
She complained to Yorkshire Ambulance Service but was told there “wasn't the full complement of ambulances on the road that day”.
A month later on September 28 at around noon she stopped at a petrol station on Wortley Road.
But as she put the petrol nozzle back on the pump she noticed the nozzle hadn't turned around and was pointing at her and instead sprayed petrol over her face and body.
“I dropped it and screamed for help,” she said.
“A passer-by stopped and got some water to help pour onto me.
“A member of staff fetched a chair as my legs were wobbling and said they'd called for an ambulance but there aren't any.
“I was in shock – I was a customer stood there soaking wet through.
“She (the employee) took me into the shop, sat me down and phoned again and was told a 'clinician' would phone back.
“After half an hour there was still nothing and she offered to drive me to hospital in her own car.”
At Rotherham Hospital Ms Totty was treated and discharged, describing her care as “absolutely wonderful”.
But she was still “in shock” no ambulance had been sent.
“I understand ambulances have priorities such as cardiac arrest,” she said.
“But what about response times for a man who will be 97 in December – laid injured on a concrete path in the rain?
“And for me – aged 81 and with petrol all over my face and chest?
“Luckily I made a full recovery but it could have been really nasty.
“If they cannot send an ambulance out for either of us then where are they sending them?”
A spokesperson for Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust said: “We are aware of the concerns raised by Ms Totty about the ambulance response to her partner following a fall in August and to a separate incident involving her in September.
“The trust’s Patient Relations Team has spoken directly with Ms Totty and has been looking into the specific details she referenced.
“Information relating to both incidents has been gathered and she will receive a formal response shortly.
“Whilst we do our best to respond as quickly as possible to all emergencies, we acknowledge that, when demand is high, some patients have to wait longer for an ambulance as we prioritise those with a life-threatening condition.”